NORTHERN IRELAND

Weapons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  for what reason the inventories of weapons decommissioned by loyalist and republican paramilitaries under the Supervision of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission have been deposited at Boston college, USA; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  on what date it was agreed that the inventories of weapons decommissioned by loyalist and republican paramilitaries under the supervision of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission should be transferred to the US State Department; who made that decision; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  if she will publish the inventories of weapons decommissioned by loyalist and republican paramilitaries under the supervision of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Government do not hold the aforementioned inventory. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established through an agreement between the UK and Irish Governments in August 1997. Article 2 (1) of that Agreement made clear that
	“The Commission shall be independent in the performance of its functions”.
	As an independent body the IICD chose not to publish its inventory of arms decommissioned for reasons set out in its final report to the UK and Irish Governments published on 4 July 2011. Instead, it took the decision to deposit the inventory of weapons decommissioned by loyalist and republican paramilitaries with the United States Department of State for safe retention. The inventory was never held by Boston college.

HEALTH

Arthritis

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of rheumatoid arthritis specialist nurses working in the NHS; if he will take steps to increase that number; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The current number of rheumatoid arthritis specialist nurses employed by the national health service is not collected centrally.
	The Government has supported the development of a range of specialist roles within nursing. It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses. In this context, the Government recognises that more should be done by some local healthcare organisations to prioritise preventative care and to provide better support for patients in their own homes and communities. Specialist nurses can play a role in the delivery of community base care, which can both save the NHS. money and, more importantly, provide better care for patients.
	We do hold information on the number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health-visiting staff employed by the NHS, which is available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre annual work force census, however the speciality requested is not collected separately.

Cancer

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2012, Official Report, column 426W, on cancer, when the NHS Commissioning Board intends to publish the Commissioning Outcomes Framework 2013-14.

Anna Soubry: It is for the NHS Commissioning Board to make decisions on how it will hold Clinical Commissioning Groups to account for their performance and they will be publishing details in due course.

Diabetes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the written answer to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr Sanders) of 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 451W, on diabetes research, if he will publish the most recent data on National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) spending in the Health Research Clarification System (HRCS) health categories; if he will request that NIHR publishes a statement of research funding allocated to (a) Type one diabetes and (b) Type two diabetes; if he will assess the adequacy of research funding for Type one diabetes; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: Spend on research funded directly by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in 2010-11 and 2011-12 in the Health Research Classification System health categories is shown in the table. These figures do not take account of NIHR expenditure on research infrastructure and systems where spend cannot be attributed to health categories.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Health category 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Blood 6,602,922 8,609,175 
			 Cancer 100,901,252 104,103,633 
			 Cardiovascular 30,991,469 34,117,061 
			 Congenital Disorders 4,352,476 4,252,761 
			 Ear 1,780,089 2,426,689 
			 Eye 7,139,225 7,851,304 
			 Generic Health Relevance 144,696,774 155,436,178 
			 Infection 21,079,768 20,883,877 
			 Inflammatory and Immune System 13,083,522 13,036,068 
			 Injuries and Accidents 4,192,377 5,446,326 
			 Mental Health 49,848,487 53,217,726 
			 Metabolic and Endocrine 25,683,345 26,627,825 
		
	
	
		
			 Musculoskeletal 15,639,508 17,571,806 
			 N/A 7,845,355 455,682 
			 Neurological 29,915,858 32,470,138 
			 Oral and Gastrointestinal 18,368,344 20,538,836 
			 Other 2,040,003 2,745,076 
			 Renal and Urogenital 8,744,089 10,154,953 
			 Reproductive Health and Childbirth 18,942,012 22,152,169 
			 Respiratory 18,192,188 20,234,850 
			 Skin 4,682,027 5,459,494 
			 Stroke 20,877,869 20,420,144 
		
	
	Expenditure by the NIHR through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards on research on type 1 and type 2 diabetes is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 2011-12 £ million 
			 Type 1 diabetes 1.8 
			 Type 2 diabetes 3.4 
		
	
	Total spend by the NIHR on research on type one and type two diabetes is higher than this because expenditure by the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) on these topics cannot be disaggregated from total CRN expenditure.
	The Department has no plans to assess the adequacy of research funding for type 1 diabetes.

General Practitioners: Pay

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the pay within clinical commissioning groups of GPs who have taken on management roles; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Information on remuneration for general practitioners working for emerging clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is not held centrally.
	Once established, the governing body of a CCG will have the responsibility to determine remuneration, fees and allowances payable to employees of the CCG and to those that provide services to the CCG.
	Each CCG will have a limit on administrative spending placed upon it by the NHS Commissioning Board and it is up to each CCG to determine how much of that envelope it spends on pay.

Health Services: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each primary care trust in the East of England spent on salaries, pension contributions and other remuneration for (a) general and senior managers, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) administrative and clerical staff in each of the last three financial years.

Daniel Poulter: The following figures are unvalidated estimates of the sum of total earnings, employer's pension contributions and employer's national insurance contributions recorded on the electronic staff record (ESR) data warehouse for each stated staff group and year. The data warehouse is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system, which is the human resources and payroll system that covers all national health service employees other than those working in general practice, two non-participating foundation trusts, and some NHS staff who have transferred to social enterprises, etc. ESR was fully rolled out across the NHS in April 2008.
	Staff groups are defined by the occupational code attached to each staff record.
	The nurses and midwives category is made up of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff. The reduction in the cost of employing nurses and midwives reflects the transfer of responsibility for providing community services from primary care trusts as a result of “Transforming Community Services.”
	
		
			 The sum of total earnings, employer's pension contributions and employer's national insurance contributions recorded on the electronic staff record data warehouse for each stated staff group and year 
			 £ million 
			 Ocs code: Trust name 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 (a) General and senior mangers:     
			 5GC Luton PCT 2.79 3.58 3.75 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 7.20 7.61 7.41 
			 5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 6.66 6.65 6.12 
			 5PN Peterborough PCT 2.09 1.45 1.00 
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 4.67 5.65 5.72 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 6.85 6.92 5.97 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 2.76 3.07 3.44 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 7.41 8.59 7.26 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 5.12 4.79 3.89 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 5.27 4.46 3.23 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 4.49 4.54 4.36 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 9.10 10.57 8.44 
			 5QV Hertfordshire PCT 9.87 10.03 9.72 
			 (b) Nurses and midwives:     
			 5GC Luton PCT 2.83 1.99 0.67 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 2.42 1.47 0.70 
			 5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 4.22 3.23 1.41 
			 5PN Peterborough PCT 4.28 3.95 1.15 
		
	
	
		
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 2.96 1.04 0.92 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 7.85 4.66 1.27 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 2.18 1.61 0.85 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 20.40 21.39 15.34 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 2.83 2.48 1.09 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 15.20 9.25 1.13 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 3.42 2.26 1.15 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 4.64 3.22 1.39 
			 5QV Hertfordshire PCT 7.51 3.72 0.90 
			 (c) Administrative and clerical staff:     
			 5GC Luton PCT 2.61 2.42 1.99 
			 5P1 South East Essex PCT 2.61 3.27 2.45 
			 5P2 Bedfordshire PCT 4.51 4.77 3.95 
			 5PN Peterborough PCT 7.33 6.84 5.01 
			 5PP Cambridgeshire PCT 6.58 5.63 5.74 
			 5PQ Norfolk PCT 5.87 5.67 5.15 
			 5PR Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 2.06 2.48 2.12 
			 5PT Suffolk PCT 8.48 8.55 7.46 
			 5PV West Essex PCT 4.37 6.15 5.10 
			 5PW North East Essex PCT 8.94 7.99 3.32 
			 5PX Mid Essex PCT 3.44 3.25 2.38 
			 5PY South West Essex PCT 6.28 5.37 2.60 
			 5QV Hertfordshire PCT 7.61 7.61 7.61

NHS: Redundancy

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the number of staff that have been made redundant by Hull Teaching Primary Care Trust since April 2010; what the average cost per staff member was of such redundancies; what the total cost was of such redundancies; how many such redundancies involved an individual redundancy payment of over £40,000; and what the cost to the public purse was of such redundancies since April 2010;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the number of staff that have been made redundant by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust since April 2010; what the average cost per staff member was of such redundancies; what the total cost was of such redundancies; how many such redundancies involved an individual redundancy payment of over £40,000; and what the cost to the public purse was of such redundancies since April 2010.

Daniel Poulter: Information on redundancy numbers and costs is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables:
	
		
			 2010-11 exit packages table 
			 Organisation Total number of exit packages Total cost of exit packages (£000) Average cost of packages (£000) Total number of exit packages over £40,000 Total cost of exit packages over £40,000 (£000) 
			 Hull Primary Care Trust(PCT) 79 3,795 48 35 3,127 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 exit packages table 
			 Organisation Total number exit of packages Total cost of exit packages (£000) Average cost of packages (£000) Total number of exit packages over £25,000 Total cost of exit packages over £25,000 (£000) 
			 Hull PCT 6 403 67 4 373 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1 24 24 0 0 
			 Notes: 1. Exit packages includes compulsory redundancies and other departures. The latter includes the cost of early retirements (except those due to ill health), voluntary redundancies, Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme, pay in lieu of notice etc. However, it is not possible to separately identify the value of compulsory and voluntary redundancies from these costs from the data collected. Therefore, an overall figure for redundancies is not separately identifiable. 2. The expense associated with these departures may have been recognised in part or in full in a previous period. Source: 2010-11 and 2011-12 PCT and NHS Trusts Audited Summarisation Schedules 
		
	
	In the 2011-12 data collection, the cost bandings in the exit packages disclosure in the accounts were revised in line with the HM Treasury Financial Reporting Manual (FReM). As such, for 2011-12 we have provided figures for exit packages over £25,000 as this is the closest match to the information requested. It is not possible, due to the bandings collected, to disaggregate the cost of exit packages over £40,000 from the 2011-12 data.
	The data are taken from the audited summarisation schedules of PCT and NHS Trusts, from which the NHS elements of the Department's Annual report and Accounts are prepared. The disclosure in the accounts reports the number and value of exit packages taken by staff leaving in the year.

NHS: Staff

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2012, Official Report, column 470-1W, on NHS: staff, what information his Department holds on the ethnic diversity of the very senior management tier within (a) his Department, (b) the NHS Commissioning Board, (c) Health Education England, (d) Public Health England, (e) the NHS Trust Development Agency, (f) Monitor and (g) the Care Quality Commission;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the equality monitoring of appointments within (a) the NHS Commissioning Board, (b) Health Education England, (c) Public Health England, (d) the NHS Trust Development Agency, (e) Monitor and (f) the Care Quality Commission;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2012, OfficialReport, columns 470-1W, on NHS: staff, what information his Department holds on the gender composition of the very senior management tier within (a) his Department, (b) the NHS Commissioning Board, (c) Health Education England, (d) Public Heath England, (e) the NHS Trust Development Agency, (f) Monitor and (g) the Care Quality Commission.

Daniel Poulter: Information on the gender composition and ethnic diversity of the very senior management tier within the Department can be found at the following link:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/01/workforce/
	Information about the NHS Commissioning Board, Health Education England, Public Health England, the NHS Trust Development Authority, Monitor and the Care Quality Commission is not collected centrally.

NHS: Staff

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instruct clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units to have a moratorium on employing staff from outside the NHS until all existing NHS staff at risk of redundancy in primary care trusts and strategic health authorities within their areas have been redeployed.

Daniel Poulter: There will not be a moratorium on employing staff from outside the national health service. The policy and guidance for employing staff from outside the NHS within Clinical Commissioning Groups and Commissioning Support Units, and the redeployment of NHS staff within the new system, were set out in the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), of 20 November 2012, Official Report, columns 470-72W.

Palliative Care

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that end-of-life care given in the NHS is determined by evidence-based medicine and not age or finance; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Department has consistently made clear that care provision, including for people at the end of life, should be based on need.
	The Quality Standard for end of life care for adults, published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2011, also makes clear that people should have access to the best quality care based on need, regardless of their individual circumstances. The Quality Standard can be found at:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/QS13
	In June 2012, the Department announced its intention to implement a ban on age discrimination in health and social care with no exceptions. This took effect in October, and will enable people who feel they have been treated badly because of their age to take an organisation or individual to court.
	The first principle of the NHS Constitution also states that the NHS provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion and belief. We have also proposed a new staff responsibility making clear that staff should contribute towards providing fair and equitable services to all, helping to reduce inequalities between differing groups and sections of society.
	A number of local financial incentives are in place in the NHS, such as through the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation framework, to support improved care for people at the end of life. These do have a place in encouraging staff to deliver the best care and improving the patient experience. However, the review currently under way around the use of the Liverpool Care Pathway, taken forward by the National End of Life Care Programme, Dying Matters and the Association of Palliative Medicine, will look at whether use of locally set incentives are always achieving improvements in care.

Palliative Care

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of recent complaints from families about the Liverpool Care Pathway; if his Department will collate complaints from families affected by the Liverpool Care Pathway; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: I held a roundtable meeting on 26 November to discuss the Liverpool Care Pathway. That meeting included representatives of patients and families. I have announced a review of use and experience of the Liverpool Care Pathway. One strand of that work, led by the Dying Matters national coalition, centres on patient experience. We will appoint an independent chairman to oversee the review, which will report in the spring.

Spinal Injuries

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there has been any underspend on the budget for spinal cord injury centres in the last two years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not hold the information requested centrally. Specialised Commissioning Groups, on behalf of primary care trusts (PCTs), currently commission spinal cord injury services. PCTs provide the funding and are accountable for this expenditure.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Aerospace Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many projects have been awarded funds as part of his Department's Building UK Leadership in Aerodynamics scheme in the latest period for which figures are available; what the value was of each such award; and how many such projects have (a) started and (b) been completed.

Michael Fallon: As part of our commitment to the joint Government/industry Aerospace Growth Partnership, we announced £60 million of funding in the budget to create a new UK Aerodynamics Centre. The first award under this scheme consisted of £28.3 million Government funding, augmented by £22.2 million from industry for six collaborative research projects involving a range of industry and academic partners and delivered through the Technology Strategy Board. Formal offer letters covering these projects have been signed by all participants and work is under way.
	The second award is for just over £15 million, matched by equal funding from industry for a portfolio of seven industry-led collaborative projects in aerodynamics following a new open competition for innovative projects in aerodynamics, (announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills at Farnborough International Airshow in July). Conditional offer letters have been issued and final contract negotiations are under way.
	No projects have yet been completed.

London Taxis International

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  whether he plans to provide finance to safeguard future manufacturing at London Taxi International;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership on the safeguarding of jobs at London Taxi International;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers on future manufacturing at London Taxi International.

Michael Fallon: London Taxi International Ltd (LTI) (as well as Manganese Bronze Holdings plc, Manganese Bronze Services Ltd and Manganese Bronze Property Services Ltd) is currently in administration. This is a commercial matter for the administrators and the Government cannot intervene directly in this process. BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) officials are being kept abreast of developments, including through contact with the administrators, and we stand ready to engage when possible, if a way forward for manufacturing in the UK is identified.
	BIS officials are working with local partners including Job Centre Plus, the National Careers Service and local training providers to ensure that those who have been made redundant are aware of the full range of support available to them. BIS Officials are also in regular contact with the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) about its plans to drive future growth and prosperity. The Government have invited the LEP, along with the Leaders of Coventry and Warwickshire local authorities, to submit an expression of interest for a city deal which would include innovative and transformative ideas to boost local growth.

Manufacturing Industries

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to his Department's initial announcement of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative on 6 November 2011 and subsequent announcement on 26 November 2012, how much of the £125 million announced has been (a) allocated and (b) spent; and whether he has any plans for any underspend of the initiative.

Michael Fallon: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills announced the successful bids from Round 1 of the Advanced Manufacturing Initiative on 26 November 2012. The successful bids are projected to create or safeguard over 2,160 jobs supported by approximately £80 million of joint public and private sector investment. We will announce the winners from Round 2 of the initiative in spring next year. Full details of the awards to individual companies will be disclosed in due course once the due diligence process has progressed further.

Manufacturing Industries

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies have been awarded funds as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative in the latest period for which figures are available; what the value was of each such award; and how many such companies have received the full amount awarded.

Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the press notice issued by the Department on 26 November 2012:
	http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Multi-million-pound-boost-for-UK-manufacturing-supply-chains-683f5.aspx
	Full details of the awards to individual companies will be disclosed in due course once the due diligence process has progressed further.

Regional Growth Fund: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications were received from Ashfield constituency for funding from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available.

Michael Fallon: We do not disclose data at the scale of parliamentary constituency.
	1,370 applications were received for the three bidding rounds of the Regional Growth Fund: of these, 195 were for projects or programmes located within the East Midlands. However, bids can be tendered by businesses located in different areas to the location of the activity and by consortia of multiple private and public organisations. We do not hold complete location information on all parties involved in a bid.
	While the impact of successful Regional Growth Fund projects is rarely limited to one constituency, four applications that described some or all of their activity in the Ashfield area were received. However, there were several applications that predicted that they would have employment impacts on the Ashfield constituency. There are several programme bids, for example submitted by Local Enterprise Partnerships, that could potentially generate activity in Ashfield.

WORK AND PENSIONS

BAE Systems

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps will be taken by the Office for Nuclear Regulation to ensure that quality assurance concerns will be investigated and addressed during construction of Astute class submarines by BAE Systems.

Mark Hoban: BAE Systems is the licensee for the Nuclear Licensed site at Barrow, which is regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). ONR does not have responsibility for the regulation of submarine construction. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence, which has its own Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DSNR). DSNR leads on the regulation of the reactor plant.

Epilepsy

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with epilepsy as their primary medical condition have received (a) employment and support allowance and (b) disability living allowance in (i) Vauxhall constituency and (ii) England and Wales since May 2010.

Esther McVey: In the following table is a breakdown of employment support allowance (ESA), incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA) and disability living allowance (DLA) claimants, with a primary medical condition of epilepsy in (i) Vauxhall constituency and (ii) England and Wales since May 2010:
	
		
			  Benefit England Wales Vauxhall parliamentary constituency 
			 May 2010 ESA 4,910 360 1.0 
			  IB/SDA 39,820 3,660 80 
			  DLA 57,480 4,790 100 
			      
			 May 2011 ESA 6,920 500 20 
			  IB/SDA 37,730 3,480 80 
			  DLA 58,370 4,830 90 
			      
			 February 2012 ESA 12,510 880 30 
			  IB/SDA 32,090 3,050 70 
			  DLA 59,070 4,810 100 
			 Notes: 1. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance (ESA) from October 2008. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, some additional disclosure control has been applied. 3. Caseload for DLA show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 4. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010. 5. IB/SDA ‘Claimants' include people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a national insurance credit, i.e. ‘credits only cases'. 6. To qualify for incapacity benefit (IB), claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called a Personal Capability Assessment. Under the employment support allowance regime, new claimants have to undergo the Work Capability assessment. From April 2011 incapacity benefit recipients will begin also to undertake this assessment. The medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefit or employment support allowance. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming IB or ESA on the basis of mental and behavioural disorders would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the Personal/Work Capability Assessment. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% WPLS

Psychologists

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been referred to a work psychologist by his Department in (a) Vauxhall constituency and (b) England and Wales since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not readily available and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Havering receive over £30,000 per annum in benefits.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Unemployment Benefits: Ayrshire

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (b) East Ayrshire local authority area have been in receipt of out-of-work benefits for (i) one year, (ii) two years, (iii) three years, (iv) four years, (v) five years and (vi) 10 years at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the numbers of people in (a) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (b) East Ayrshire local authority area who have been in receipt of out-of-work benefits:
	
		
			  All Up to one year One to two years Two to three years Three to four years Four to five years Five years and up to 10 years 10 years and over 
			 East Ayrshire Local Authority 13,800 5,960 1,940 700 560 440 1,550 2,650 
			 Jobseekers Allowance 4,840 3,650 1,010 130 40 * 10 10 
			 Incapacity Benefits 7,060 1,730 600 340 360 320 1,270 2,450 
			 Lone Parents 1,320 420 240 180 130 80 180 90 
			 Carers 440 90 80 40 40 30 70 90 
			 Other Income Related Benefits 140 90 10 * * * 10 20 
			          
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun Parliamentary Constituency 10,440 4,580 1,490 550 410 340 1,190 1,870 
			 Jobseekers Allowance 3,750 2,820 770 110 30 * 10 10 
			 Incapacity Benefits 5,200 1,300 460 260 250 240 960 1,720 
			 Lone Parents 1,050 330 190 140 100 70 150 70 
			 Carers 320 60 60 30 30 20 60 60 
			 Other Income Related Benefits 110 70 10 * * * 10 20 
			 “*” Denotes nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Statistical Group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. 3. Out of work benefits which are included in this analysis are: Jobseekers Allowance Employment and Support Allowance Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance Income Support 4. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance (ESA) for new claims from October 2008. 5. Durations shown are the longest claim duration of the benefits of interest. 6. The duration of claim reflects the longest out-of-work benefit claim for each person: For the jobseekers statistical group this will be the length of the JSA claim. For the lone parent, carer, and others on income related benefit statistical groups this will be the length of the IS claim. For the ESA and incapacity benefits claim this will be the length of the IB/SDA or ESA claim if the person is only claiming that benefit, or the oldest of either the IB/SDA/ESA and IS claim if the person is claiming a combination of these benefits. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Work Capability Assessment

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the appeals process following work capability assessments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The costs to the public purse for the appeals process span costs to DWP as well as Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	DWP is responsible for paying HMCTS for any additional appeals over the baseline set in 2007 when the tribunals service transferred from DWP to Ministry of Justice. DWP and HMCTS currently negotiate and agree additional funding annually to cover any forecast increase in appeals.
	The estimate for the first half of 2012-13 financial year for the cost of appeals is £11.3 million for DWP in respect of staff costs of employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment appeals, plus a payment of £14.85 million to HMCTS.

Work Capability Assessment

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will consider collecting the medical evidence of people completing work capability assessments for use by Atos in order to improve the accuracy of the decision making process with a view to reducing the number of appeals;
	(2)  what plans he has to improve the use of medical evidence in work capability assessments with a view to reducing the costs and number of appeals following such assessments.

Mark Hoban: All people claiming ESA are invited to submit medical evidence, Atos healthcare professionals have guidance to request further medical evidence where it is appropriate and where further medical evidence is required to reach a decision on benefit entitlement, it can be requested by the Department.
	All available evidence has to be considered by the Department's decision maker before making a determination on benefit entitlement and it is in the claimant's interest to submit additional medical evidence to ensure their claim is correctly determined and unnecessary appeals avoided.
	The Department has already undertaken a series of improvements to the work capability assessment (WCA) process to ensure that we obtain the best available evidence. As part of this we have made changes to the self assessment questionnaire (ESA50) to make it clearer to claimants that they should submit relevant evidence to support their claim. We have also introduced improvements to the WCA process including decision makers contacting claimants as part of the decision making process where a negative decision is proposed, to ensure that they have all available evidence and then reconsidering that decision where additional information is provided.
	We will continue to review and refine all aspects of the WCA to ensure that it is more effective; fairer for all claimants and as a result fairer for the taxpayer.

Work Capability Assessment

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to reduce the cost and number of appeals following work capability assessments.

Mark Hoban: We are introducing a number of measures to help reduce both the cost and the number of appeals. These include:
	A ‘mandatory reconsideration' process so that when a claimant disagrees with a DWP decision, they will be given a thorough explanation and helped to identify any additional evidence that could review the decision and enable DWP to ensure that all claimants receive the benefits which they are entitled to at the earliest opportunity.
	Direct Lodgement of appeals with Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS)—which will mean that claimants wishing to appeal a DWP decision following a mandatory reconsideration will be required to submit their appeal directly to HMCTS.
	Professor Harrington made a number of recommendations to support the ‘right first time' approach to decision making. From the 9 July 2012 we have introduced a new scheme for tribunals to provide feedback to DWP on the standards of decision making in respect of cases where the tribunal overturns a DWP decision. This will enable the Department to assess areas that may require further improvement and help improve standards of decision making.
	In June 2010 DWP appointed Professor Malcolm Harrington a highly respected occupational physician to undertake independent reviews of the work capability assessment (WCA). He has completed three reviews, the third of which was published on the 20 November 2012.
	The improvements we are making to the WCA following these Harrington reviews will:
	ensure that we increase the number of decisions that are right first time; and
	improve communications to claimants.

Work Capability Assessment

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider moving the responsibility from individuals to service providers in collecting medical evidence for work capability assessments.

Mark Hoban: Processes are already in place, for both Atos Healthcare and departmental decision makers to collect further medical evidence. Additionally, as part of his third independent review of the work capability assessment, Professor Harrington recommended that departmental decision makers should actively consider the need to seek further documentary evidence in every claimant's case or justify their final decision if further evidence has not been sought. The Department has provisionally accepted this recommendation subject to ongoing work to assess the implications and feasibility of implementation.

Work Capability Assessment

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider changing the start date of the reassessment period for work capability assessments to begin on the date of the appeal decision.

Mark Hoban: As part of the work capability assessment (WCA), a healthcare professional will give advice on when an individual should be re-assessed. This advice is based on the likely improvement in each individual's condition over a three to 18 month period. Individuals with more serious conditions, where a return to work is unlikely, will be re-assessed at a later date—usually within two years. When making the decision on the claimant's ESA claim, the DWP Decision Maker takes account of all of the available evidence, so can accept or amend the healthcare professional's advice on the re-assessment period.
	We are aware that some claimants are referred for a subsequent WCA shortly after receiving the outcome of an appeal. Judges do have discretion to include on the Tribunal's Decision Notice a recommendation of when the next WCA should take place. DWP's internal guidance does advise Decision Makers that, when deciding a WCA re-referral date, they should consider various factors—including whether the Tribunal has suggested a re-referral date. The final decision does rest with the Decision Maker.
	We have no plans to amend the WCA re-assessment date to align with the date of the Tribunal's decision in every case.

Work Capability Assessment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to increase the accuracy of decision-making during the initial assessment phase of the work capability assessment.

Mark Hoban: In June 2010 DWP appointed Professor Malcolm Harrington a highly respected occupational physician who has undertaken three independent reviews of the work capability assessment (WCA). The Government's response to his latest review which was published on 20 November can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wca-review-2012-response.pdf
	Over the course of the reviews Professor Harrington has made a number of recommendations to support the ‘right first time' approach to decision making. Professor Harrington's recommendations included making the process more empathetic and less mechanistic by:
	improving the way Jobcentre Plus communicates with claimants;
	introducing mental, cognitive and intellectual ‘champions' into assessment centres to improve the assessment of these functions;
	empowering and improving training for decision makers; and
	improving the transparency of the process.
	As a result we have:
	changed the way we communicate with claimants, including enhanced communications to explain the process more clearly;
	put decision makers at the heart of the process and introduced the Quality Assessment Framework to improve the quality of decisions made; and
	introduced the personalised summary statement and regional mental function champions to improve the quality of face to face assessments.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take to shift the market shares of work programme providers in each contract package area following the publication of initial job outcome data; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: In line with the rules for moving referrals to better-performing providers as defined under Work programme contracts, the Department will review market shares on 31 June 2013, based on performance delivered during the 12 months ending 31 March 2013.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has any plans to assess the financial viability of providers on the Work programme following the publication of initial job outcome data.

Mark Hoban: As part of the Department's supplier management policy, DWP has an existing process to monitor the financial viability and risk of key suppliers post contract award.
	This is undertaken on a basis of material and critical criteria and involves the review of a several sources of financial and commercial information. Suppliers are assessed and rated according to perceived risk which determines the nature of any follow up action required.
	All Work programme suppliers are included in this monitoring process and are prioritised due to their critical status. As a minimum, each Work programme supplier is reviewed on an annual basis. Publication of Work programme statistics does not alter the process and continuous monitoring will remain in place.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the work programme performance data published by his Department on 27 November 2012 shows performance at 3 per cent of referrals, on the key performance measure set out in the invitation to tender, compared with non-intervention performance at 5 per cent and minimum performance standard at 5.5 per cent; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Performance has built up more slowly than our initial assumptions suggested. This is because participants are building towards job outcomes through multiple periods of shorter term employment. Providers are also taking longer than expected to track and claim outcomes. Our aspiration for the total levels of outcomes to be achieved by providers remain the same.

Written Questions: Government Responses

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) shortest and (b) longest time taken by his Department to answer a written parliamentary question was in (i) 2012 to date, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010.

Mark Hoban: The (a) shortest time taken by the Department to answer a written PQ in (i) 2012 to date (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2010 was one working day. The (b) longest time taken to answer a written PQ in (i) 2012 to date was 86 working days in (ii) 2011 was 104 working days and in (iii) 2010 was 43 working days.

TRANSPORT

Driving Tests: Southend on Sea

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he has considered making the driving test centre pilot scheme in Southend permanent;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the driving test centre pilot scheme in Southend.

Stephen Hammond: A driving test centre was opened at Tickford, in Southend-on-Sea, in May 2012 to provide additional local testing capacity.
	There are no plans to stop the provision of driving tests from this centre. The Driving Standards Agency will continue to review all its driving test delivery service and test centre estate to deliver the most cost effective and efficient service to customers.

Liverpool Airport

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the airlines on the introduction of a (a) transatlantic and (b) trans-Asian route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has held no discussions with airline representatives on the introduction of transatlantic or Asian routes from Liverpool John Lennon airport. It is a commercial decision for airlines as to what routes they operate.

Roads: North West

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what provision was made in the North West Highways management contract for Area 10 for a review of the adequacy of the measures to be taken by the contractors in the event of a fuel spillage on the motorway;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to review the value for money of the North West Highways management contract for Area 10; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether there is provision in the North West Highways management contract for Area 10 for the cleaning up of fuel spillages on the carriageway by contractors; and what steps contractors are permitted to take under such provisions.

Stephen Hammond: The new asset support contract for the geographical area known as Area 10 commenced on 4 November 2012. It was awarded, following a competitive tendering process, to the tenderer offering the best value for money.
	The asset support contract includes a requirement to make the trunk road and motorway network safe, following all incidents. This includes cleaning up after fuel spills. The asset support contractor is required to attend incidents and reopen the lanes within a timescale specified in the contract.
	This is a performance measure used by the Highways Agency, which specifies mean monthly opening times based on the traffic levels and time of day on the trunk road or motorway.
	The asset support contract gives the contractor flexibility to determine how best to deal with the spills and achieve the required outcomes.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment she has made of the representation of ethnic minority employees in the creative industries for which her Department leads in providing support; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 29 November 2012
	Data from the 2011 Sector Skills Assessment for the Creative Industries (produced by Creative Skillset and Creative and Cultural Skills) suggest that BME representation in the creative industries is 7%, compared with 9% for the whole UK economy.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is committed to improving equality of access and opportunity to those working within its sectors, and works to promote a diverse creative industries sector that supports growth. Support for the sector is primarily channelled through the joint Government and industry forum, the Creative Industries Council, which addresses barriers and issues facing the sector. A report on skills produced by a council working group earlier this year highlighted the need to increase and enrich pathways into the sector, so that talent from all backgrounds can enter the creative industries and prosper. Government and industry are now working together to take forward action against recommendations in this report which include greater apprenticeship and internship provision.

Charitable Donations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to increase philanthropic giving.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made excellent progress on boosting philanthropy for culture. Together with Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, we are investing over £100 million to incentivise philanthropy through the Catalyst programme. This programme will lever at least as much again in match funding from private donors. It will help cultural organisations diversify their income streams, strengthen their fundraising activity and unlock long-term funding from private sources, including through the development of endowments.
	A reduced rate of inheritance tax, to help boost legacy giving, came into effect in April this year for those who leave more than 10% of their estate to a cultural body or charity. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), has now received an independent report by the Chairman of Legacy10 which makes recommendations on how we can further strengthen legacy giving.
	The Department is also establishing the new Cultural Gifts Scheme, which will enhance acquisitions by museums across the country through the first scheme to use tax incentives to promote lifetime giving to public collections. The Department also continues to work closely with colleagues across Government to pursue the actions which were set out in our Giving White Paper last year.

Charitable Donations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has set targets for philanthropic giving for the next five years.

Edward Vaizey: No targets have been set. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport believes there is considerable potential to increase levels of philanthropic giving over the next five years. However, the enormous range and complexity of factors which contribute to successful relationships between donors and the thousands of arts and heritage bodies across England make target-setting impractical.

TREASURY

Economic Situation

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the need for a regional balance to the UK economy.

Sajid Javid: The Local Growth White Paper established the Government's approach to promoting local growth in England. Returning the UK economy to sustainable economic growth that is more balanced across the UK and sectors is a key priority. The Government are supporting growth in England's regions by allocating £2.4 billion of investment through the Regional Growth Fund; providing £730 million to endow an investment fund for all local enterprise partnerships through the Growing Places Fund; introducing 24 new enterprise zones; and devolving powers and funding through City Deals including a significant deal for Liverpool.
	The Local Government Resource review creates an incentive for localities to grow their business rates base, and provides greater rewards to those areas with low tax bases compared to their communities’ current needs, thereby enhancing other policies that seek to rebalance growth in England.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional expenditure has been allocated to High Speed 2 (HS2) to enable it to deliver the recommendations in the Major Project Authority's report on HS2; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Government have allocated expenditure to HS2 Ltd during the current spending review period to design and develop plans for the proposed high speed route between London and Birmingham in support of the hybrid Bill.
	All major projects are reviewed by the Major Projects Authority during their development with the aim of ensuring that they are delivered efficiently, on time and to budget.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether additional expenditure has been allocated to enable HS2 Ltd to develop further mitigation proposals for the preferred line of route in this Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Government have allocated expenditure to HS2 Ltd during the current spending review period to design and develop plans for the proposed high speed route between London and Birmingham in support of the hybrid Bill.
	The Government and HS2 Ltd will continue to place a high priority on mitigating the effects that building a new railway will bring and HS2 Ltd will carry out a full environmental impact assessment of the route.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the current cost-benefit ratio is for High Speed 2; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: HS2 Ltd currently estimates the cost-benefit ratio for HS2 to be 2.5 including wider economic benefits.
	More information can be found in the “Updated Economic Case for HS2” published on the HS2 Ltd website in August 2012:
	http://www.hs2.org.uk/assets/x/93861

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Office for Budget Responsibility has plans to undertake a review of the economic effect of the High Speed 2 project; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: The Office for Budget Responsibility is an independent body, created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK's public finances. As set out in legislation, the OBR's independence gives it complete discretion to determine the work programme by which it may initiate research and produce additional analysis.

Tax Allowances

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to introduce transferable tax allowances.

David Gauke: The Government's commitment to bringing forward a proposal to recognise marriage through the tax and benefit system remains firm. We want to show we value commitment and will consider a range of options and bring proposals forward at the appropriate time.

EDUCATION

Children in Care

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of children in care whose parents were previously in care;
	(2)  how many children there were in each (a) lower layer super output area, (b) medium layer super output area and (c) ward in the most recent year for which figures are available broken down by the reason for entry into care.

Edward Timpson: Data are not collected on the number of children in care whose parents were previously in care.
	Data held centrally on looked after children do not go beneath local authority level, and to generate these geographies within these data would incur disproportionate costs. Information on the number of children looked after at 31 March 2012, by local authority, is provided in table LAA1 of the Statistical First Release ‘Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)—year ending 31 March 2012' which can be found on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/statistics/allstatistics/a00213762/children-looked-after-las-england

Physical Education: Curriculum

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2012, Official Report, column 447W, on physical education: curriculum, whether it is his policy to maintain the previous Government's aspirational target of a minimum amount of two hours each week to be spent on physical education.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has clearly set out that he expects every school to want to maintain, as a minimum, the previous levels of provision for PE and sport each week for every pupil; and that he expects schools to continue to provide good-quality PE and competitive sport for every pupil.

Physical Education: Teachers

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the initial teacher training syllabus for primary school teachers is devoted to physical education.

David Laws: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 6 November 2012, Official Report, column 553W.
	The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), does not set the content of initial teacher training courses or require that training providers devote a proportion of the syllabus to physical education. It is for training providers to decide what trainees should be taught to enable them to achieve the Teachers' Standards. The Department does not mandate content of initial teacher training courses. Trainees must know and understand the relevant statutory and non-statutory curricula and frameworks, and other relevant information applicable to the age and ability range for which they are trained.

Private Education: Special Educational Needs

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of omission of provision for independent special schools from the children and families Bill on access to local specialist support for children with complex needs.

Edward Timpson: The draft special educational needs provisions of the proposed children and families legislation reflect the current position. Parents of children with statements of special educational needs can make representations for an independent school and the local authority has to consider those representations. The Government are currently exploring with independent schools catering specifically for children with special educational needs the possibility of including them within the provisions which give parents of children with Education, Health and Care Plans the right to express a preference for a particular state funded school. We are hopeful of resolving matters in time for the introduction of the legislation, which is currently in draft and undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.

Pupils: Databases

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  with reference to his plans to widen access to the national pupil database, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the identity of individuals is fully protected; and what steps he will take in case there is a breach of that protection by (a) the media, (b) commercial organisations and (c) others;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on his proposed changes to widen access to the national pupil database;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of including private schools in the national pupil database.

Edward Timpson: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The Department for Education is consulting on proposals to amend regulations to allow extracts of data from the national pupil database to be shared for a wider set of purposes. The aim is to increase beneficial uses of the data that promote the education or well-being of children.
	All applications for extracts of data from the national pupil database are subject to a robust approvals process. Selected data would only be shared with approved organisations for specific purposes. Organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions on security, handling and use of the data, including processing it in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The data are typically shared in a format that allows users to analyse the information without the need for names or other identifiers, with sensitive data receded to make them much less sensitive.
	The Department has the right to audit compliance with security requirements and terms and conditions. Any failure to comply with the terms and conditions would be considered a serious matter and a breach of contract with the Department for Education. Organisations could also be subject to prosecution under the Data Protection Act 1998, or the Information Commissioner could impose penalties of up to £500,000.
	Officials have discussed proposals to widen access to extracts of data from the national pupil database under strict terms and conditions with representatives from the Information Commissioner's Office on a number of occasions over the last year. Information Commissioner Office representatives have said that they would support in principle the release of data under controlled access, as long as a proper system of governance is in place. The Department strengthened its process for requesting access to data from the national pupil database under terms and conditions, details of which are available on the Department's website. See following link:
	www.education.gov.uk/npd
	The Department for Education does not hold detailed pupil level information relating to independent schools. The Department holds attainment data on all schools for public examinations taken at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5, which are provided by awarding organisations. Independent schools are not required to take part in national curriculum tests, but may choose to do so. Any other pupil level data held are provided voluntarily.

Special Educational Needs

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his Department's announcement of 20 November 2012 that the trials of the proposals in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Green Paper will be extended by 18 months, whether he proposes that there should be a revised timetable for evaluation reports from the pathfinders.

Edward Timpson: In line with commitments made in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Green Paper, 20 pathfinders were set up in September 2011, representing 31 local authorities and their health partners.
	An independent interim evaluation report of the pathfinder programme was published on 18 October 2012 and is available from the Department for Education's research website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/research/researchpublications
	Under existing contractual arrangements with SQW, the final evaluation report is due to be published in summer 2013.
	On 6 November, I was pleased to be able to announce to the Education Select Committee an 18 month extension of the pathfinder programme, to September 2014. The independent evaluation will be extended by up to 24 months, subject to contract negotiations, allowing more time for the most effective pathfinder approaches to be fully evaluated and shared, particularly with non-pathfinder areas to support implementation of the Green Paper reform programme. The timing of further evaluation reports is being considered as part of the negotiations.

JUSTICE

Community Orders: Young Offenders

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of applying community payback to people under 18 years of age.

Jeremy Wright: Community payback or unpaid work is available as a requirement of a Youth Rehabilitation Order for offenders of 16 or 17 years of age. It is a sentence which punishes young offenders by requiring them to do hard work which benefits the community. In 2011 unpaid work requirements of Youth Rehabilitation Orders comprised 3.5% of the total unpaid work requirements imposed. Approximately 75% of adults sentenced to community payback successfully complete their sentences by working all of the hours required. In 2011 the successful completion rate for sentences imposed as a requirement of a Youth Rehabilitation Order was less than 50%. Efforts are being made by the National Offender Management Service to increase the number of young offenders who successfully complete community payback sentences.

Coroners: Tees Valley

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average time taken by the Teesside coroner to conduct inquests was in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011; what assessment he has made of the performance of the Teesside coroner in 2012 with regard to the time taken for inquests to be concluded; and what meetings he has had to discuss issues relating to the Teesside coroner.

Helen Grant: The average time taken by the Teesside coroner to conduct inquests was 34 weeks in 2009, 43 weeks in 2010 and 44 weeks in 2011.
	The Teesside coroner was the subject of an investigation by the Office for Judicial Complaints in 2011 concerning the increase in time taken to conclude inquests since 2008. The investigation was deferred in December 2011 pending the outcome of a separate investigation undertaken by Middlesbrough Council's Community Safety and Leisure Scrutiny Committee into the Teesside coroner. MOJ Ministers have not had any meetings to discuss issues relating to the Teesside coroner.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications were received by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority on (a) 27 November 2011, (b) 26 November 2012 and (c) 27 November 2012.

Helen Grant: As 27 November 2011 was a Sunday, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's office was closed. They have given the figure for Friday 25 November 2011 instead.
	The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority considers applications to have been received once a consent form, allowing them to undertake investigations, has been signed and returned. Applicants who completed an online or telephone application on 26 or 27 November are unlikely to have returned that form. Therefore, in addition to the number of applications received with a returned consent, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has also provided the number of online/telephone applications completed.
	
		
			  Applications received (consent form returned) Internet/telephone applications completed (consent form outstanding) 
			 25 November 2011 177 — 
			 26 November 2012 329 589 
			 27 November 2012 1 143

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time was for the Tribunals Service to administer a First-tier Tribunal-Social Security and Child Support appeal in respect of employment and support allowance in Coventry in each quarter in (i) 2011 and (ii) 2012.

Helen Grant: Appeals against decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions on an individual's entitlement to social security and child support are heard by the First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
	(a) The following table shows the average time taken from receipt of an appeal to disposal by the tribunal in respect of employment and support allowance (ESA) in the Coventry hearing venues for (i) each quarter of the financial year 2011-12 and (ii) April to June 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available).
	
		
			 Appeal times (in weeks) from receipt to disposal in Coventry 
			 Employment and support allowance Appeal times (weeks) 
			 April to June 2011 33.0 
			 July to September 2011 36.3 
			 October to December 2011 39.7 
			 January to March 2012 46.8 
			 April to June 2012 37.8 
			 Note: The data are taken from management information 
		
	
	The appeal waiting time in weeks in Coventry for all appeal types is 30.8 weeks.
	(b) The SSCS tribunal does not hold information on the single longest period an appellant has waited for a benefit appeal hearing. The information can be provided only at disproportionate cost by manually checking individual case files. However, during the period April to June 2012, 584 ESA appeals were disposed of in the Coventry venues. Of these 0.7% were more than two years old. Those appeals that take longer than two years to be disposed of are likely to be complex cases which may have more than one hearing, for example a first hearing may have been adjourned for further evidence to be gathered.
	HMCTS has continued to respond strongly to the significant increase in the number of appeals received by the SSCS tribunal. Two additional venues are now in use to hear some appeals which would previously have been heard at the Coventry venue. These are in Leamington Spa and Nuneaton (in use from 13 and 15 November 2012 respectively). These additional venues provide the capacity for an additional 36 sessions in November and 40 sessions in December. This will reduce the number of appeals waiting to be heard at Coventry and, therefore, help bring down the average waiting time for an appeal hearing. Other work to increase the tribunal's capacity is also underway. This includes the recruitment of additional fee-paid judges and medical members, increased administrative resource, and work to reallocate hearings to alternative nearby venues to ensure appeals are dealt with as quickly as possible.
	HMCTS is also working hard at a national level to increase the capacity of the SSCS Tribunal and reduce waiting times. It has implemented a range of measures which include recruiting more judges and medical panel members; increasing administrative resources and streamlining processes; securing additional hearing venues across the country; increasing the number of cases listed in each tribunal session; running double shifts in its largest processing centre; running Saturday sittings in some of the busiest venues; and establishing a customer contact centre to deal with telephone inquiries.
	All of this is having a positive effect. The total number of disposals has increased significantly from 279,000 in 2009-10 to 380,000 in 2010-11, and 433,600 appeals in 2011-12, with the capacity for half a million disposals in 2012-13.
	The tribunal disposed of more appeals than it received in every month between January 2011 and February 2012 (14 consecutive months) and the outstanding caseload within the tribunals fell by 25% in 2011-12 to reach 145,000 on 31 March 2012. The average waiting time has stabilised nationally, and has fallen across many venues.

Judges: County Courts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  which justices of the High Court in England and Wales were authorised to sit as county court judges after direction by the Lord Chancellor under section 5(3) of the County Courts Act 1984 since January 1989 to date;
	(2)  how many directions under section 5(3) of the County Courts Act 1984 have been made authorising justices of the High Court to sit as judges of the county court in (a) Caernarfon county court and (b) Cardiff county court between January 1989 and October 2012.

Helen Grant: It is not possible to provide an accurate response on records dating back to 1989 as we do not hold information dating back this far. However, the breakdown as to the number of High Court judges authorised to sit under section 5(3) of the County Courts Act 1984 from 1 January 2007 to date is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number and details of those approved 
			 2007 One—Sir Nicholas Underhill 
			 2008 One—Sir David Bean 
			 2010 Nine—(of these eight were approved to sit in the Patents County Court jurisdiction)—Sir Kim Lewison, Dame Sonia Proudman, Sir Christopher Floyd, Sir Anthony Mann, Sir Nicholas Warren, Sir David Kitchin, Sir Paul Morgan, Sir Alastair Norris and Sir Richard Arnold 
			 2012 One—Sir Michael Briggs 
		
	
	No authorisations have been made specifically for (a) Caernarfon county court or (b) Cardiff county court.

Magistrates Courts: Video Conferencing

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates courts were using video links with police stations on 1 November (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011 and (e) 2012.

Damian Green: Video links between magistrates courts and police stations are used for two purposes:
	(1) To allow a defendant to appear in a magistrates court for a first hearing by means of a video link while still physically located in the police station and
	(2) To allow police officers give evidence to the court while physically located in the police station.
	First hearings allowing defendants to appear by video were first piloted in London (Camberwell Green magistrates court) since May 2009 and Kent (Medway magistrates court) since August 2009.
	Police officers giving evidence to magistrates court by video began using a link from South Norwood police station to Croydon magistrates court in March 2011.
	The number of magistrates courts using video links with police stations for either defendants or police officer giving evidence are:
	
		
			 As at 1 November each year Number 
			 2008 0 
			 2009 2 
			 2010 2 
			 2011 5 
			 2012 19

Offenders: EU Nationals

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals from EU countries have been convicted of an offence in the UK since 5 December 2011.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. Information held centrally on this database does not include a defendant’s nationality.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Prime Minister's speech to the CBI on 19 November 2012, what the current time limit is for making (a) a judicial review application and (b) a statutory appeal relating to planning decisions.

Helen Grant: Under the Civil Procedure Rules, claims for judicial review should be brought promptly and not later than three months after the grounds to make the claim first arose.
	Where planning cases are appealed to and decided by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, most judicial appeals are made through section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which are subject to a six week time limit.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many UK citizens have been transferred to prisons in the UK from other EU member states since 5 December 2011.

Jeremy Wright: Since 5 December 2011, two British citizens have been transferred to prisons in England and Wales under the EU prisoner transfer agreement which entered into force on that date. A further 38 British citizens have been transferred from prisons in other EU member states to prisons here under other prisoner transfer arrangements.
	The transfer of prisoners to Scotland and to Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners from each EU country were transferred to prisons in the country of their nationality since 5 December 2011.

Jeremy Wright: The Government do not hold information on the number of prisoners transferred between other member states of the European Union. To date no prisoners have been transferred from England and Wales to other EU member states under the EU prisoner transfer agreement which entered into force on 5 December 2011. A small number of requests for transfer to other member states have been made and decisions are awaited. However, 32 prisoners have been transferred from prisons in England and Wales to other member states of the European Union under other prisoner transfer arrangements during that period.
	The transfer of prisoners from Scotland and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister.

Sentencing

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2012, Official Report, column 291W, on the Policing and Crime Act 2009, what assessment he has made of the reasons behind the recording issues referred to in that answer; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Information that is published annually within the Criminal Justice Statistics publication has been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. The data from those systems have more than 22,000 different offence classifications available. It is not possible to individually check the accurate recording of each available offence classification on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database used for preparing the Criminal Justice Statistics publication. A solution for the issue of recording in this centrally held database has been identified and is now being tested. As previously advised, revision to the 2011 information and 2012 data is planned for publication in May 2013.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
	(a) Expenditure on the fees paid to recruitment agencies for supplying contractors, consultants, and those taking up temporary and permanent positions in the Ministry of Justice is recorded differently across the various organisations within the Ministry. To arrive at a breakdown of monies paid for the provision of such services would require a manual examination of each invoice submitted by a recruitment agency. This would incur disproportionate cost.
	(b) The Ministry of Justice provides career transition coaching, guidance and support to surplus staff (including those at risk of redundancy) through its in-house Career Transition Service. The support package to staff includes a guaranteed place at a full day career transition workshop facilitated by an external outplace support provider, six months unlimited access to an online career development resource site and distance coaching for six months after attendance at the workshop. The average cost of the outplacement support (workshop and follow-up support) is £165 per person. The average monthly cost across the full 12 month period is approximately £6,308.
	(c) Budgets for internal training within the Ministry of Justice are devolved to business units and are deployed for staff training to meet business need. To arrive at a breakdown of monies paid for internal training would require a manual examination of individual budgets. This would incur disproportionate cost.
	For external training, the most recent data available show that for the period between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012, the Department spent £10.351 million. External training costs are those which are delivered outside of the Department's internal resources with approval through the central civil service learning arrangement. This can include professional training and support through academic bodies. External training providers are able to deliver specialist training which is sometimes not available internally. Externally procuring specialist training in this way is often more cost effective than developing training packages because the training is targeted to smaller groups.
	A monthly breakdown of this expenditure is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Gross amount (£ million) 
			 August 2011 0.483 
			 September 2011 0.995 
			 October 2011 0.654 
			 November 2011 1.234 
			 December 2011 0.701 
			 January 2012 1.099 
			 February 2012 0.906 
			 March 2012 1.351 
			 April 2012 1.181 
			 May 2012 0.329 
			 June 2012 0.591 
			 July 2012 0.827

Youth Justice Board

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed at the Youth Justice Board on 1 November (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012.

Helen Grant: The number of staff employed at the Youth Justice Board on 1 November for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 is set out in the following table: These figures include temporary staff, those on secondment to the Youth Justice Board and contractors.
	
		
			  Number of staff (headcount) 
			 2009 407 
			 2010 307 
			 2011 234 
			 2012 226

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Boilers: Repairs and Maintenance

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average waiting time was for the Warm Front scheme to deal with boiler breakdowns in (a) November, December, January, February and March 2010, (b) November, December, January, February and March 2011 and (c)  January, February, March and November 2012.

Gregory Barker: The average waiting times for breakdowns serviced through WarmSure, the aftercare provider for the Warm Front scheme, for the months requested is set out in the following table. The average response times presented are for all categories of breakdowns reported by customers and not those solely associated with a boiler breakdown. Data are not yet available for November 2012.
	
		
			 Month Average response (days) 
			 January 2010 5 
			 February 2010 4 
			 March 2010 4 
			 November 2010 4 
			 December 2010 4 
			 January 2011 5 
			 February 2011 8 
			 March 2011 5 
			 November 2011 3 
			 December 2012 3 
			 January 2012 3 
			 February 2012 3 
			 March 2012 4

Green Deal Scheme

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to ensure that homeowners receive assistance to insulate their homes from the Green Deal launch date on 28 January 2013.

Gregory Barker: Up to and from 28 January 2013, homeowners are being supported to insulate their homes in a number of ways:
	Energy Company Obligation CECO)
	The new ECO will come into force on 1 January 2013 and is expected to provide about £1.3 billion of support each year for energy saving home improvements targeted at low income and vulnerable households and harder to treat properties, such as those requiring solid wall insulation.
	Launch Incentives
	A cashback scheme worth £125 million, will reward households in England and Wales taking early action to improve the energy efficiency of their homes under the Green Deal with direct cash payments from Government. Amounts could be £1,000 or more per household depending on the improvements they install. The Green Deal Cashback Scheme will support the transition to a new energy efficiency market framework by raising awareness of and demand for improvements installed under the Green Deal. We will open the Cashback Scheme in the second week of January to help consumers and businesses get ready to take fullest advantage of the Cashback offer as we build to the full launch of the Green Deal on 28 January 2013 , when the first Green Deal finance plans may be signed.
	Core Cities
	We are giving £12 million of funding to seven major cities. The money will support demonstrator projects to trial key aspects of the Green Deal and support future activity in these areas. Activity includes Green Deal assessments, loan arrangements to fund work and show homes to provide local examples of what can be achieved. Building on this we have offered local authorities in England the opportunity to bid for £10 million to support early delivery and promote future demand for the Green Deal.
	Consumer engagement
	The Green Deal will be market driven, with Green Deal Participants leading consumer engagement using their brands and their customer knowledge. However, Government have an important role to play providing impartial advice online at:
	www.gov.uk/greendeal
	and via the Energy Saving Advice Service helpline (0300 123 1234). A £2.9 million Government communications campaign will help raise awareness and build trust in the Green Deal.

Pay

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2012, Official Report, column 452W, on pay, whether the number given for employees of his Department earning in excess of £80,000 per year is inclusive or exclusive of the number earning in excess of £100,000 per year.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 27 November 2012
	Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2012, Official Report, column 452W, to written parliamentary question 128558, the number 21 given for employees of the Department earning in excess of £80,000 per year, as of 30 September 2012, was exclusive of the 13 given for employees of the Department earning in excess of £100,000 per year.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change had 34 employees paid in excess of £80,000 as of 30 September 2012. Of those 34 employees, 21 employees were paid between £80,000 and £100,000 and 13 employees were paid in excess of £100,000.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Four-point Plan proposed by the President of Burma as a means of alleviating ethnic conflict in that country.

Hugo Swire: We are cautiously hopeful about the progress the Burmese Government has made in trying to rebuild trust with ethnic groups. We recognise that the reconciliation process, led by President Thein Sein, remains fragile, and we continue to urge all parties to work towards a peaceful future for all of Burma's people.
	We are actively supporting the reconciliation process. On 7 November, the Department for International Development announced that the UK Government would contribute a total of £27.17 million for humanitarian support of refugees and internally displaced persons and peace-building activities in Burma.

Burma

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had on the need for international observers to be deployed in Rakhine state.

Hugo Swire: We continue to raise our concerns about the recent violence in Rakhine state, and the need for improved security and unrestricted humanitarian access there, with the Burmese Government. The Burmese authorities have, to date, allowed independent observers from foreign governments and international organisations to visit the areas affected by the violence. Officials from our embassy have visited Rakhine state on numerous occasions, including the British ambassador, who led the first independent diplomatic mission to the state in early October and visited again in early November. I will visit Rakhine state during my forthcoming visit to Burma.
	We welcomed the formation of the independent Investigative Commission to probe the causes of the violence, but made clear that for the commission to be credible, it needed to involve a consultative process with all the affected communities, including the Rohingya. We are awaiting the initial findings of this commission.
	It will be important for any investigations into alleged atrocities to be transparent and thorough, ensuring that those who have committed crimes are held to account for their actions.

Egypt

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the declaration issued by President Mohammed Mursi of Egypt on 22 November 2012.

Alistair Burt: The UK remains committed to supporting Egypt's political transition and strengthening democracy in Egypt, including through progress on a new constitution which protects the rights of all Egyptians and which is based on broad consensus.
	We are aware of concerns about the president's constitutional declaration issued on 22 November and are closely monitoring developments. We note that President Mursi has stated his commitment to completing the transition, including a referendum on the constitution and parliamentary elections.
	I have sought assurances from the Egyptian Foreign Minister that a way forward will be found. He has assured me that President Mursi is in dialogue with the Egyptian judiciary and civil society, and hoped this would be settled soon. We will continue to maintain close contact with the Egyptian authorities and the opposition on this issue.

Egypt

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Egypt on the declaration issued by President Mohammed Mursi of Egypt on 22 November 2012.

Alistair Burt: I discussed the situation in Egypt with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mohamed Kamal Amr, on 27 November and sought reassurances that a way forward would be found. The Foreign Minister assured me that President Mursi was in dialogue with the Egyptian judiciary and civil society and hoped this would be settled soon. We will continue to maintain close contact with the Egyptian authorities and the opposition and monitor developments.

Egypt

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the declaration issued by President Mohammed Mursi of Egypt on 22 November 2012.

Alistair Burt: To date our close contact with the European External Action Service and EU member states has been through UK officials. We are also discussing the declaration and its wider implications issue with EU partners in Cairo through our embassy.

Pakistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent trends in the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

Alistair Burt: Pakistan faces a high rate of terrorist attacks directed against the state, religious and ethnic groups and foreign interests. We are seriously concerned by the multiple suicide attacks in Pakistan over the last week, during the Islamic holy month of Muhurram. These horrendous acts of sectarian violence show an appalling contempt for religion and for human life. The British Government are working closely with the Pakistani Government to combat the menace of terrorism and extremism which threatens the people of both our countries.

Staff

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff work for his Department in each location.

Alistair Burt: In the UK, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has 2,524 staff based in London and 282 staff based in Milton Keynes. Overseas, there are 1,878 staff located in 217 of our posts globally, with a further 50 posts covered by remote working or locally engaged staff.
	These figures include all FCO civil servants based in the UK and overseas, but do not include staff from FCO services trading fund or the UK Border Agency. Neither do they include locally engaged staff employed overseas.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Lord Lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the procedure is for the appointment of a Lord Lieutenant;
	(2)  in the selection procedure for the appointment of a Lord Lieutenant, which individuals and organisations are formally consulted.

Chloe Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 1032W.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of calls to the police were concerned with antisocial behaviour in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012 to date.

Jeremy Browne: The requested information is not available centrally.
	The Home Office collates figures on the number of antisocial behaviour incidents recorded by the police forces of England and Wales but does not collect data on the total number of calls that the police receive or what proportion relate to antisocial behaviour.

Domestic Violence

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of domestic violence occurred in each (a) lower layer super output area, (b) medium layer super output area and (c) ward in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Browne: The requested information is not available. It is not possible to identify domestic violence cases from the recorded crime figures returned to the Home Office by police forces as these figures are based on counts of crime under the appropriate offence classification (e.g. GBH, ABH) and there are no details on the offender-victim relationship.

Human Trafficking

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking did to raise awareness of human trafficking on or around Anti-Slavery Day.

Mark Harper: Members of the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking (IDMG) participated in a range of events on or around Anti-Slavery Day including:
	visiting a support provider; meeting with a trafficking victim; visiting a local school; holding a seminar with a university group; witnessing frontline border operations; attending the Women Against Violence Europe Conference; hosting an event for foreign embassy staff at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to engage with them on victim support issues; and participating in a human trafficking summit organised by the Scottish Government. I met with NGO staff involved in the GIFTbox project and spoke to the BBC as well as chairing a round table event for the private sector, to raise awareness in the hotel industry
	The first report of the IDMG was also published on Anti-Slavery Day.

Human Trafficking: Females

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set up an inquiry into the number of women working in nightclubs who have been trafficked into the UK from within the EU and from other parts of the world.

Mark Harper: The UK Human Trafficking Centre has not identified this as an area of greater trafficking concern than other high profile areas and there are no plans for an inquiry.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of (a) male and (b) female UK military personnel reporting (i) rapes and (ii) sexual assaults in Afghanistan in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: There have been no reported rapes of UK military personnel in Afghanistan. A total of 16 UK military personnel reported sexual assaults in Afghanistan since 2002. Two of those personnel were male and 14 were female.
	Since Op Herrick began in 2006, around 123,000 personnel have served in Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Housing

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 October 2012, Official Report, column 454W, on armed forces: housing, if he will estimate the number of hard-to-treat service family accommodation properties that will benefit from the Energy Company Obligation and the Green Deal.

Mark Francois: Currently 317 hard-to-treat service family accommodation properties will benefit from the Energy Company Obligation and the Green Deal.
	However, as stated in my answer of 19 October, a further 10,000 properties will benefit from improved insulation work as well.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many current service personnel were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in England in (a) 2009, (b) 2010 and (c) 2011.

Mark Francois: The following table shows the number of UK service personnel who attended a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Department for Community Mental Health (DCMH) in England, with an assessment of PTSD(1).
	(1) All figures are provisional as at 1 October 2012.
	
		
			 DCMH Number 
			 2009 77 
			 2010 110 
			 2011 142 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of UK service personnel assessed with PTSD by the MOD's in-patient provider. In-patient facilities are based in the UK. However, it is not possible to ascertain referral location, and therefore identify those referrals made in England only.
	
		
			 In-patient provider Number 
			 2009 Less than 5 
			 2010 10 
			 2011 11 
		
	
	Individuals may have received more than one episode of care from 2009 to 2011 and could therefore be counted in more than one year.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of armed forces personnel were recruited from Scotland in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Francois: The following table indicates the number of regular recruits, officers and other ranks who joined their respective service through Scottish careers offices.
	Contribution to total recruiting from Scottish armed forces career offices (AFCOs) is the best information available. However, while broadly indicative, it should be noted that recruits can join the services at any careers office in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	
		
			 Percentage of total regular recruits starting phase 1 training from Scottish AFCOs 
			  Royal Navy Army Royal Air Force 
			 2011-12 7.6 10 7 
			 2012-13 (to date) 7 9 7

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1074W, on armed forces: sexual offences, how many sex offenders are serving with the armed forces overseas by category of offender; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: As at 12 November 2012, there were three service personnel registered as sex offenders who are serving overseas. All three are Category 1 (Level 1 offenders, the least serious level).

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 704W, on armed forces: sexual offences, in which year the convictions were recorded; in which country the individuals are currently serving; and whether risk assessments were carried out prior to the convicted individuals returning to duty in respect of contact with (a) the public, (b) male and (c) female members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The details we can release in relation to these cases are restricted by our obligations under the Data Protection Act. I can confirm that the individuals referred to are currently serving in the UK. I can also confirm that their convictions were recorded in 2006 and 2009 respectively.
	Primary responsibility for the management of these offenders rests with the civilian police, in accordance with Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which are designed to reduce the risk of re-offending in order to protect the public. This includes ensuring that a risk management plan is developed. As part of these arrangements, a civilian police offender manager will visit the offenders at least once every 12 months and the offenders will also be monitored during routine MAPPA meetings.
	I can also confirm that where an individual is retained in the armed forces, an additional risk assessment is undertaken by their chain of command at the point of their retention, a process which is repeated whenever the individual is posted, or there are significant changes in their place of residence or employment. The chain of command will also consider the severity of the offence when deciding to retain an individual or not.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault were reported by members of the armed forces in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: For the number of rape and sexual assault cases reported between 2010 and mid 2012, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, the Minister for the Armed Forces, the right hon. Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 3W. The additional information now requested is not held centrally, and to provide figures of each reported allegation of rape and sexual assault for each year since 2000 would result in disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many rape allegations were made by (a) female and (b) male members of the armed forces in each year since 2000; in how many of those cases (i) charges were directed for trial and (ii) trials were held; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information requested on the number of rape allegations made by female and male members of the armed forces in each year since 2000 is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of cases of rape reported by members of the armed forces to the service police and referred to either the Single Service Prosecuting Authorities (up to 31 December 2008) or the Service Prosecuting Authority (from 1 January 2009) since 2005 and the number of those which resulted in direction for trial and trials held are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 Female 
			  Rape referrals Directed for trial Trials held 
			 2005 3 2 2 
			 2006 1 0 0 
			 2007 2 1 1 
			 2008 4 1 1 
			 2009 3 1 1 
			 2010 6 1 1 
			 2011 3 1 1 
			 2012 to 22 November 2012 (1)9 (2)5 2 
			 (1) One yet to be decided. (2) Three awaiting trial. 
		
	
	
		
			 Male 
			  Rape referrals Directed for trial Trials held 
			 2005 1 0 0 
			 2006 0 0 0 
			 2007 0 0 0 
			 2008 0 0 0 
			 2009 0 0 0 
			 2010 0 0 0 
			 2011 1 1 1 
			 2012 as at 22 November 2012 0 0 0 
		
	
	We do not hold details of cases investigated by the civilian police.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel are serving sentences in military prisons following convictions for (a) sexual assault and (b) rape; what the average length of such sentences is in each category; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not have any military prisons. However, there is a Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester, which is a tri-service detention facility for armed forces personnel and, occasionally, civilians who are subject to service law.
	There are currently three armed forces personnel in detention at the Military Corrective Training Centre following a conviction for sexual assault. There is also one member of the armed forces who is detained at Colchester, while awaiting sentencing, having been found guilty of rape.
	Those found guilty of a sexual offence are normally discharged on completion of their sentences, and only retained in service in exceptional circumstances.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault reported by members of the armed forces in each year since 2000 resulted in (i) prosecution and (ii) conviction; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information requested on the number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported by members of the armed forces in each year since 2000 is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of cases of rape and sexual assault reported by members of the armed forces which resulted in trial and conviction by either the Single Service Prosecuting Authorities (up to 31 December 2008) or the Service Prosecuting Authority (from 1 January 2009) since 2005 is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Rape referrals Directed for trial Conviction 
			 2005 4 2 1 
			 2006 1 0 0 
			 2007 2 1 0 
			 2008 4 1 0 
			 2009 3 1 0 
			 2010 6 1 0 
			 2011 4 2 1 
			 2012 to 22 November 2012 (1)9 (2)5 2 
			 (1) One yet to be decided. (2 )Three awaiting trial. 
		
	
	
		
			  Sexual assaults Directed for trial Conviction 
			 2005 27 14 7 
			 2006 30 18 10 
			 2007 19 14 9 
			 2008 21 14 8 
			 2009 16 8 3 
			 2010 31 18 15 
			 2011 40 27 22 
			 2012 as at 22 November 2012 (1)20 (2)10 4 
			 (1 )Four yet to be decided. (2 )Six awaiting trial.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people serving in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Army have a conviction from civil courts for offences of (i) rape and (ii) sexual assaults; how many cases of (A) rape and (B) sexual assault were reported to the civilian police by members of the armed forces in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 704W. As of 21 November 2012, we were not aware of any further additional convictions from civil courts for offences of rape and sexual assault.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving armed forces personnel in each service have contacted the Royal Military Police to report allegations of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information requested is not held in the format requested. Figures for each allegation of rape and sexual assault for each year since 2000 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many prosecutions for (a) rape and (b) sexual assault there have been of members of the armed forces in Germany since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information is only held in the format requested for 2005 onwards. Earlier figures could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of armed forces personnel who have been prosecuted(1) for rape in Germany Number of armed forces personnel who have been prosecuted(1) for sexual assault in Germany 
			 2005 3 9 
			 2006 1 15 
			 2007 2 7 
			 2008 2 8 
			 2009 7 2 
			 2010 4 8 
			 2011 3 15 
			 2012 (as at 20 November) 4 6 
			 (1) The figures refer to the date of referral to the Service Prosecution Authority. Some of the cases referred may be directed, disposed and/or tried in the following year. 
		
	
	Details of cases investigated by the civilian police are not held by the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Royal Military Police have received specialist training in the investigation of allegations of rape and sexual assault; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 705W.
	Since 1 April 2012, a further five personnel have been trained in Home Office accredited training specific to dealing with offences of a sexual nature.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many victim liaison officers are deployed in each service; where such victim liaison officers are deployed; how long on average such victim liaison officers serve; what training they receive; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Service victim liaison officers (VLOs) are not a permanent feature in any of the three services. They are appointed by commanding officers as and when the need arises for the period such cover is required. The lowest rank that can carry out the function is petty officer in the Royal Navy or sergeant in the Army and Royal Air Force.
	There is no formal requirement for training in this role. Experience preferably in welfare, good oral communication skills and sensitivity are the qualities sought in the individuals selected. Each VLO is appointed on a case by case basis so there is no average length of service that any individual spends in the role.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 616W, on armed forces: sexual offences, how many individuals have left the armed forces following a conviction for (a) sexual assault and (b) rape since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Danny Nightingale

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Sergeant Danny Nightingale.

Mark Francois: holding answer 19 November 2012
	There was an Adjournment debate on this issue on 20 November 2012, Official Report, columns 553-60.
	The appeal hearing was held on 29 November 2012.

Danny Nightingale

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings Ministers in his Department have had with representatives or family members of Sergeant Danny Nightingale.

Mark Francois: We are not aware of any requests to meet with representatives or family members of Sergeant Danny Nightingale. Both the Secretary of State for Defence and I retain an interest in this matter. However, while the case has been sub judice no such meetings have taken place.

Danny Nightingale

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps Ministers in his Department took regarding the timing of the appeal hearing of Sergeant Danny Nightingale.

Mark Francois: The timing of the bringing of an appeal was a matter for Sgt Nightingale, as the appellant. This had to be brought within the standard time limits for any appeal to be lodged after a conviction.
	It was then for the Court Martial Appeal Court to set dates for the appeals, and it set a hearing for 29 November 2012 soon after the appeal was lodged.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is for the (a) Defence Business Services and (b) Defence Infrastructure Organisation in each of the next five years.

Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence does not publish details of future budgets for individual parts of the Department. These are adjusted by the Defence Board both in-year, and in each annual budgeting cycle, to ensure that resources remain aligned with outputs.
	As announced in the spring, we expect to make savings of around £71 million in the running costs of the services provided by Defence Business Services as a result of the four-year contract awarded to Serco to transform corporate services.
	Work is proceeding to determine the future operating model and most appropriate corporate structure for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to deliver the support our armed forces need at the best value for money while delivering savings in operating costs.

Exhumation

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what system of DNA matching his Department uses in seeking to identify human remains prior to burial.

Mark Francois: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The Ministry of Defence uses external contractors to conduct DNA matching and they use mitochondrial sequencing and Single Tandem Repeats on the Y-chromosome.

Exhumation

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been identified as deceased UK armed forces personnel following the discovery of human remains in each year since 2005.

Mark Francois: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The number of people identified as deceased UK armed forces personnel following the discovery of human remains in each year since 2005 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Year(1) Identified Multiple(2) 
			 2005 32 19 
			 2006 20 0 
			 2007 17 11 
			 2008 24 8 
			 2009 24 11 
			 2010 14 11 
			 2011 8 0 
			 2012 7 0 
			 (1) Confirmation as UK personnel did not necessarily happen in the same year as the remains were found. (2) Multiple covers remains recovered from aircraft crash sites where there were several casualties and additional fragmentary remains have been buried together in an existing grave without being linked to a named crew member.

France

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the identification of the human remains found at Beauchamps-Ligny in France in November 2009.

Mark Francois: holding answer 27 November 2012
	Since May 2010, the Ministry of Defence has received 34 representations from Members of Parliament, members of the public and one request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 about the identification of the human remains found at Beauchamps-Ligny in France in November 2009.

France

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what efforts his Department has made to identify the human remains found at Beauchamps-Ligny in France in November 2009.

Mark Francois: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The remains of the soldiers found at Beauchamps-Ligny in Northern France are with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in France, and Ministry of Defence officials in the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre are working with the CWGC and Regimental Associations to identify them.
	Identification is currently focusing on documentary and forensic analysis, but DNA testing will be used if the remains recovered can be linked to suitable candidates from whom DNA can be obtained.

HMS Victory

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration was given to the loss of immunity from salvage of HMS Victory prior to the ship's gifting to the Maritime Heritage Foundation; what assessment was made of the Maritime Heritage Foundation's ability to fund the legal proceedings to protect the wreck site against unauthorised disturbance; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The decision to transfer responsibility for the management of the wreck of HMS Victory that sank in 1744 to a charitable trust was reached following an extensive consultative exercise during which a number of issues were considered including the implications for sovereign immunity of a transfer of ownership, how risks to the site might best be managed and also the practical options for funding to take work forward on the site.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he plans to answer the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 1 October 2012 with regard to Ms R K Hughes;
	(2)  when he intends to answer the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 1 October 2012 with regard to Ms R K Hughes.

Andrew Robathan: I responded to the right hon. Member on 11 October 2012. A further copy of my letter was emailed to the right hon. Member's office on 13 November.

Navy

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what change there will be in the number of military or civilian personnel employed across the Royal Navy due to the transfer of hunter-killer submarines from HM Naval Base Devonport to HM Naval Base Clyde;
	(2)  what change there will be in the number of military and civilian personnel employed at HM Naval Base Devonport due to the transfer of hunter-killer submarines to HM Naval Base Clyde;
	(3)  how many of the jobs which will be moved to Faslane with the transfer of Astute and Trafalgar class submarines are for (a) service personnel and (b) civilian staff.

Mark Francois: The number of jobs at Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde is forecast to increase from around 6,700 now to around 8,200 by 2022.
	This change is primarily due to an increase of around 1,500 in the number of Royal Navy jobs at the site, of which around 630 will transfer from HMNB Devonport due to the move of the base-port for the Trafalgar class submarines to HMNB Clyde. There are no plans to transfer any Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian jobs from HMNB Devonport.
	It is not possible to determine the impact on civilian jobs at HMNB Devonport caused solely by the move of the base-port for the Trafalgar class submarines. It is anticipated, however, that it will not lead to any significant changes in either HMNB Devonport civilian numbers, or in the total number of civilians employed by the MOD. It is also anticipated that it will not lead to an increase in the overall size of the Royal Navy.
	The decision to base-port the entire Astute class at HMNB Clyde was taken before any of the submarines in the class entered service. As a result, no transfers of jobs from HMNB Devonport are planned.

Navy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Royal Navy takes to protect offshore wind turbines; and what (a) ships and (b) personnel are used to provide such security.

Mark Francois: The Royal Navy has not been tasked to provide protection to offshore wind turbines and no assets have been allocated.
	Any security or protection arrangements would be the responsibility of the developer.

Pay

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many employees in his Department are paid in excess of (a) £80,000 and (b) £100,000.

Mark Francois: holding answer 20 November 2012
	All of those who are employed by the Ministry of Defence need to be paid at a level which, on the one hand, reflects the requirement for financial restraint and value for money and, on the other hand, allows us to attract and retain high calibre individuals to undertake challenging roles.
	There are some 1,410 employees, of whom 1,340 are military, in the Ministry of Defence who are paid between £80,000 and £100,000 and some 958, of whom 930 are military, who are paid in excess of £100,000. These figures include both military and civilian personnel and represent less than 1% of the workforce.

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Mark Francois: Since May 2010, the following appointments have been made to the boards of Ministry of Defence's Trading Fund agencies and non-departmental public bodies:
	96 male new appointments plus 168 male reappointments; and
	22 female new appointments plus 44 female reappointments.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether it is his policy that replacement vehicles for the current high security vehicles will display radioactive material hazard signs when transporting special nuclear materials;
	(2)  what the reasons are for the time taken to withdraw high security vehicles from service; and what arrangements his Department has made to ensure the safety of the vehicles during their extended period of service;
	(3)  when the high security vehicles used for the transport of special nuclear materials will be withdrawn from service.

Philip Dunne: In accordance with current Ministry of Defence policy it is not intended to display radioactive material hazard signs on the truck cargo heavy duty Mk3 when transporting special nuclear materials. Adequate safety arrangements, as required by legislation, are in place to ensure the necessary information is available to emergency services.
	The process of withdrawal of the high security vehicles (HSVs) has been delayed as work to complete the rigorous set of safety studies, procedural trials and approvals has been re-prioritised. This is to enable higher priority work within part of the wider nuclear weapons programme to be completed. This type of adjustment is routinely made on a wide-ranging programme such as this. The current HSVs are maintained to a high standard and are subject to an independent Vehicle and Operator Services Agency MOT.
	On current plans, the HSVs will be withdrawn from service in late 2013.

RAF Prestwick

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) service and (b) civilian personnel have been employed at RAF Prestwick in each of the last five years.

Mark Francois: The following table sets out the number of service and civilian personnel employed at RAF Prestwick as at 31 March in each financial year since 2007-08.
	
		
			  Service personnel Civilian personnel 
			 2007-08 61 6 
			 2008-09 65 6 
			 2009-10 68 6 
			 2010-11 65 6 
			 2011-12 65 6

Security

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has been issued with a pass for the Ministry of Defence main building; and on what date that pass was issued.

Mark Francois: holding answer 27 November 2012
	The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), has not been issued with a permanent pass to the Ministry of Defence main building.
	He has had visitor or VIP passes prepared for him on six occasions. The dates were 26 May 2010, 18 January 2011, 27 April 2011, 25 May 2011, 22 June 2011 and 23 February 2012.

Staff

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of people who normally reside in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who are employed by his Department.

Mark Francois: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Defence does not collate management information which would allow us to analyse residential addresses by parliamentary constituency.

Theft

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what thefts there were from his Department's establishments in (a) April, (b) May, (c) June and (d) July 2012; what the value was of the items taken; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what thefts there were from his Department's establishments in (a) July, (b) August and (c) September 2012; what the value was of the items taken; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Items that have been reported as stolen from April 2012-September 2012 are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 April 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 Drill, Jigsaws, Grinder 235.00 
			 TV 460.00 
			 TV 900.00 
			 Body Armour 400.00 
			 Cash 2,500.00 
		
	
	
		
			 May 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 Hard Drives and RAM 400.00 
			 Brass indicator test plugs 100.00 
			 Uniform tunic 25.00 
			 DVD player 100.00 
			 Discs 24.00 
			 Welding equipment 272.00 
			 Sat Nav 170.00 
			 Copper hot water cylinders 2,320.00 
			 Fuel Card 121.00 
			 Winch 2,000.00 
			 Ink cartridges 560.00 
			 Respirator, Haversack, Helmet, Bergen with issued contents 1,530.00 
			 Fluorescent light fittings 600.00 
			 Day sack containing military clothing 1,200.00 
			 SA80 components, lx live round and spent SA80 cartridges (1)— 
			 Radios 100.00 
			 Electrical cable 1,000.00 
			 Copper water tank 200.00 
			 Brass blanking cap 15.00 
			 Foul weather suit 200.00 
			 Combat boots, desert boots, rucksack 130.00 
			 Head torches 135.00 
			 Uniform shirts, general purpose respirator 400.00 
			 Brass hoses and couplings 2,000.00 
			 Ratchet, socket set, file set, cordless drill 70.00 
			 Boots, body armour, dry suits combat uniforms 5,470.00 
			 (1) Value not recorded 
		
	
	
		
			 June 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 Cash 571.00 
			 Binoculars 821.00 
			 Wheels, Tyres, Flat Kit, Valves 3,373.00 
			 Toolkit 541.00 
			 Copper piping 1,000.00 
			 Fuel 1,000.00 
			 Jacket, jumper 150.00 
			 Vacuum cleaner 70.00 
			 Bike 428.00 
			 Brass 500.00 
			 Socket set and pliers set 160.00 
			 Sleeping bag, Bergen rucksack 150.00 
			 Fire extinguishers 200.00 
			 Dry, chilled and frozen foods 800.00 
			 Saw 500.00 
			 Fire extinguisher 30.00 
			 Boots 150.00 
			 Body Armour and plates 134.00 
			 Sheets of Polythene foam 276.00 
			 Jackets 100.00 
			 Electrical testing kit (1)— 
			 Drill 160.00 
			 Axle Stands (1)— 
			 Computer and monitor 354.00 
			 Camcorder 350.00 
			 Helmet 100.00 
			 Computer drive unit 175.00 
			 Drill 188.00 
			 Water 12,718.00 
			 Lead flashing 250.00 
			 Ration packs 440.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Pony 500.00 
			 Fire safety gloves 63.00 
			 Helmets 300.00 
			 Combat Jacket, waterproof jacket, rucksack 350.00 
			 Bergen, Sleeping bag, Bivvy bag, suit 520.00 
			 Lead roofing 10,000.00 
			 Inner compartments for toolbox 100.00 
			 Rucksack, weapons cleaning kit, jackets, ear defenders 80.00 
			 Fuel 188.00 
			 Lead blocks (1)— 
			 Boilers 200.00 
			 Mobile Telephone 20.00 
			 5KG dumbbells 55.00 
			 Computer mouse 15.00 
			 Brass Hose Nozzle 100.00 
			 Indicator testing plug (1)— 
			 Jacket 60.00 
			 Flight deck helmet 170.00 
			 Copper and lead 200.00 
			 Scrap metal (1)— 
			 Queens Diamond Jubilee medal 150.00 
			 EZ bar and various weights 70.00 
			 Ration packs 620.00 
			 Laptop 400.00 
			 Silver rose bowl 245.00 
			 Chainsaw, circular saw 1,288.00 
			 Toolkit 659.00 
			 Mobile Telephone (1)— 
			 (1) Value not recorded 
		
	
	
		
			 July 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 wii console and controller 35.00 
			 Car seat assemblies, metal bar tools 560.00 
			 Gas meters 200.00 
			 Cash 18,000.00 
			 Trousers 170.00 
			 Scrap metal including old tools/tool boxes 275.00 
			 Camcorders and camera 1,000.00 
			 Drugs (1)— 
			 Women's jumper, Women's slacks, lanyard and scarf 95.00 
			 Uniform and medals 250.00 
			 Helmet 120.00 
			 Cap (1)— 
			 Laptop (1)— 
			 Generator (1)— 
			 Lead (1)— 
			 Drain covers (1)— 
			 Lead 5,000.00 
			 Keys 500.00 
			 Marine ply sheets (1)— 
			 Flight deck helmet (1)— 
			 Lead flashing 250.00 
			 Magazine pouches 40.00 
			 Oxygen gas analyzer (1)— 
			 (1 )Value not recorded 
		
	
	
		
			 August 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 Headsets (1)— 
			 Fuel (1)— 
			 Day sack 10.00 
			 Fuel 168.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Day sack 50.00 
			 Printer 150.00 
			 Fridge 108.00 
			 Lancers 80.00 
			 Bed quilt covers and polystyrene tiles (1)— 
			 Bag (1)— 
			 Aluminium fuel piping 12,000.00 
			 Helmets, footwear, clothing and GPS devices 160.00 
			 Bergen, boots and jacket 150.00 
			 Copper piping 1,000.00 
			 Various MOD clothing and equipment—rucksacks, combat clothing, boots, watches, batteries 5,000.00 
			 Copper cable and copper piping 4,000.00 
			 Copper boiler, radiators, fixtures and fittings 1,400.00 
			 Lead flashing and lead downpipe 200.00 
			 Tool bags and contents 400.00 
			 Toolkits, LCD Monitors 1,477.00 
			 Toolkit for repair of canvas 947.00 
			 Cash 750.00 
			 Ceiling spotlights 100.00 
			 Steel Wired Armoured Cable and Drum 4,000.00 
			 Weighbridge 200.00 
			 Ration Packs, Helmets, Visors, Gloves Torches. 2,900.00 
			 Brass from fire equipment, including nozzles, connectors, plugs and caps 2,480.00 
			 First aid bag and contents 50.00 
			 Electronic pulse monitor 186.00 
			 Holdalls 150.00 
			 Drill, carrier and batteries 130.00 
			 Periodicals (1)— 
			 Mess dress, Waterproofs, trainers 299.00 
			 Boots 50.00 
			 Copper roofing sheets 1,000.00 
			 Minor award vouchers 50.00 
			 Oximising battery conditioner 135.00 
			 Fuel 1,300.00 
			 Medical knee braces 2,000.00 
			 Sniper Belt and Mobile Pouches, Plate Carrier, Holster, disconnect kit, Knee pads 500.00 
			 Uniform trousers and jacket 150.00 
			 Tarpaulins from two 8 tonne vehicles 200.00 
			 Twin head pump sets 2,000.00 
			 Racing Bikes 1,200.00 
			 Electrical multimeters and carry cases 393.00 
			 Fuel and 18 Jerry cans 860.00 
			 Projector 1,364.00 
			 Respirator and rucksack 150.00 
			 Boots, sailing vest, multi tool 369.00 
			 Day sack 10.00 
			 Cylinder pouch 83.00 
			 800 watt solar panel 500.00 
			 Gloves, neoprene mask 70.00 
			 Fire extinguisher 50.00 
			 Work shoes 33.00 
			 Mobile Telephone 50.00 
			 Respirator, smock, combat shirt 107.00 
			 Copper piping 1,000.00 
			 Shirts, Windproof Smock, trousers (1)— 
			 Commanders pouch 260.00 
			 Oil burner unit 200.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Combat jackets, body armour and plates, helmet cover, boots, camelback, tropical uniform, jungle greens 960.00 
			 Microwave oven 50.00 
			 Military clothing (1)— 
			 Tyres and wheels 1,003.00 
			 Rifle and sight unit 1,166.00 
			 Aluminium 26,000.00 
			 Bowman equipment 8,853.00 
			 Sat Navs 160.00 
			 Chainsaw, welder, Welder's mask 300.00 
			 Paving slabs 138.00 
			 Padlocks 3,280.00 
			 Flag 270.00 
			 Bergen containing sleeping bag, helmet and jacket 250.00 
			 Major spills kit 1,200.00 
			 Toolbox 300.00 
			 Smock 100.00 
			 Drill 35.00 
			 Landrover battery 80.00 
			 Office clock 15.00 
			 Wood router 200.00 
			 Clothing and equipment including helmets 1,500.00 
			 Socks, Liner sleeping bag, Net washing, Field packs, Sleeping bag, Compression sack jungle, Shoes Service, Boots, Liner Jackets, combat Jackets 1,285.00 
			 (1) Value not recorded 
		
	
	
		
			 September 2012 
			 Items reported as stolen Estimated value (£) 
			 Copper piping and fittings 1,000.00 
			 Lead flashing 3,500.00 
			 Boots 160.00 
			 Outboard engines 25,233.00 
			 Camouflage trousers, camouflage shirts, camouflage jackets 380.00 
			 Galvanised shackles 20.00 
			 Steel wired armoured cable 2,000.00 
			 Sailing suits 200.00 
			 Generator 500.00 
			 Hallmarked Silver catering items, jugs, teapots, baskets etc. 6,500.00 
			 Fuel 599.00 
			 Metal detector 1,771.00 
			 Viewing kit 4,365.00 
			 Weights, kettle bells, medicine ball, push up swivel bars 159.00 
			 Diving helmets 20,958.00 
			 Flooring 100.00 
			 Respirators 5,380.00 
			 Sleeping tablets 5.00 
			 Ceremonial tunic (1)— 
			 Brass fire fighting fittings and equipment 1,900.00 
			 Navigational set 1,012.00 
			 Generator set and ancillary items 315.00 
			 9x9 shelter general purpose and ancillary items 535.00 
			 DVD, hi-fi and radio 125.00 
			 Sleeping bag, sleeping bag cover 55.00 
			 Copper (1)— 
			 Fuel 1,160.00 
			 Belt, Locket union, Drill Boots; Sleeping Bag; Trousers, Socks, T shirts, Bergan 242.00 
			 Body Armours, Helmets 1,447.00 
			 DVD/audio kit 1,364.00 
		
	
	
		
			 Helmet, Rifle cleaning kit, Water Bottle, Magazines; Ear defence, Jacket 205.00 
			 (1 )Value not recorded 
		
	
	These data do not include ongoing investigations as disclosing this information may jeopardise these investigations. The months listed refer to the month in which the case was closed.
	The loss of the Bowman equipment poses a minimal threat to security as the equipment cannot be used without additional user information.
	The Ministry of Defence takes the theft of equipment very seriously and works hard to detect and deter theft. There are robust processes in place to raise awareness of the need for vigilance in all aspects of security and we actively encourage individuals to report theft. This work has resulted in a rise in the number of reports over the last year.
	The military environment and supply chain represents a population of hundreds of thousands of people and many of the thefts identified will have taken place from areas open to the wider public. Reported theft represents only about 0.0015% of overall Defence assets.

Trade Unions

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times he and other Ministers in his Department have met representatives of (a) Unite, (b) PCS, (c) Prospect, (d) GMB, (e) UCATT, (f) FDA, (g) RMT, (h) NUMAST and (i) BMA since May 2010; and on what dates those meetings took place.

Mark Francois: holding answer 30 October 2012
	The Ministry of Defence takes its responsibilities as an employer very seriously. Ministers and senior officials regularly meet the Department's recognised trade unions.
	However, comprehensive details of all meetings between Defence Ministers and trade union representatives are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

CABINET OFFICE

Alcoholic Drinks: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths in which alcohol was the primary cause there were in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire in each of the last three years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths in which alcohol was the primary cause occurred in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire, in each of the last three years. (131326)
	The table provides the number of deaths with an alcohol related underlying cause in the counties of (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire, in each year from 2009 to 2011 (the latest available year).
	The latest alcohol-related death figures for the UK, England and Wales, and regions in England are available on the ONS website at the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health4/alcohol-related-deaths-in-the-united-kingdom/index.html
	
		
			 Number of alcohol-related deaths by selected counties in England; 2009-11(1,2,3,4) 
			 Deaths (persons) 
			 Area 2009 2010 2011 
			 Cambridgeshire 59 52 55 
			 Norfolk 93 69 83 
			 Suffolk 70 67 69 
			 (1) Based on boundaries as of August 2012. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3) Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. (4) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). The ICD-10 codes for alcohol poisoning are shown in Box 1. Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			 Box 1. National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths (ICD-10) 
			 ICD-10 code Text 
			 F10 Mental and-behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol' 
			 G31.2 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol 
			 G62.1 Alcoholic polyneuropathy 
			 142.6 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 
			 K29.2 Alcoholic gastritis 
			 K70 Alcoholic liver disease 
			 K73 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified 
			 K74 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (Excluding K74.3-K74.5—Billiary cirrhosis) 
			 K86.0 Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis 
			 X45 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol 
			 X65 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol 
			 Y15 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent

Antisocial Behaviour

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of recorded crimes were offences of antisocial behaviour in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011 and (d) 2012 to date.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question.
	The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defined anti-social behaviour in law as ‘acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household'.
	The police recorded crime statistics for England and Wales published by the ONS are based on notifiable offences. These include all offences that could possibly be tried by jury plus a few additional closely-related summary offences dealt with by magistrates, such as assault without injury.
	Anti-social behaviour is not a separate notifiable offence and, although the nature of many of these incidents are recognisable as crimes in law (such as littering or dog fouling), an ‘ASB incident' is one where the level of severity is not deemed high enough to warrant the recording of a notifiable offence. Some anti-social behaviour will be recorded by the police as a notifiable offence if an incident is of sufficient severity, but will be included within a general offence category, such as harassment or criminal damage and cannot be separately identified.
	The Home Office collates statistics on incidents of anti-social behaviour recorded by the police, which are deemed not to be notifiable offences within recorded crime, which are published by the ONS on a quarterly basis in Table P14 within ‘Crime statistics: Police force area data tables 2011-12—Crime in England and Wales, Quarterly First Release to March 2012' available from the link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-265883

Pay

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will require the London living wage to be paid to cleaners working in his Department employed by contractors.

Francis Maude: It was not the practice of previous Governments to require cleaners in this Department to be paid the London living wage.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much matched funding from the Rural Development Fund his Department will pay to farmers in 2012-13.

David Heath: We estimate that a total of £489 million will be paid to farmers under the Rural Development Programme for England in 2012-13. This consists of £118 million of DEFRA funding, matched with £371 million of EU funding. This estimate is based on the proportion of beneficiaries who are farmers and applying that to the current forecast of spend for 2012-13.

Agriculture: Young People

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that young people who wish to enter the farming industry receive necessary support.

David Heath: holding answer 29 November 2012
	The farming industry takes the lead in promoting itself to young people and supporting new entrants into the sector. The Government recognise that agriculture offers exciting opportunities for entrepreneurial and talented young people and are keen to support industry in encouraging people to take up careers in the agricultural industry.
	DEFRA is actively working with industry to create the right conditions to enable this to happen. These include supporting the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs through a grant, which is used for a range of activities including skills development. DEFRA also sits on a cross sector ‘Agri-Skills forum’, which focuses, co-ordinates and influences skills issues.
	Government are also supportive of apprenticeships and have introduced the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers, which provides payments of £1,500 to support smaller employers taking on new young apprentices aged 16-24.
	DEFRA is currently determining how the future Common Agricultural Policy and in particular the design for the new Rural Development programme, can best be used to support young farmers and new entrants as they develop their businesses in the early years.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Chilterns

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Natural Capital Committee has advised the Government on the protection and enhancement of the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The independent Natural Capital Committee has been established to provide independent expert advice on the state of English natural capital and in particular to:
	(i) provide advice on when, where and how natural assets are being used unsustainably;
	(ii) advise the Government on how they should prioritise action to protect and improve natural capital, so that public and private activity is focused where it will have the greatest impact on improving wellbeing in our society; and
	(iii) advise the Government on research priorities to improve future advice and decisions on protecting and enhancing natural capital.
	Committee members only have limited time available and therefore provide high level strategic advice rather than that relating to specific local issues.

Ash Trees

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of ash trees in each local authority area.

David Heath: No recent estimate has been made by local authority area. However, the 45 County Reports for England from the Forestry Commission's National Inventory of Woodland and Trees published in 2001 gives information of the area of woodland where ash is the principal species and an estimate of the number of ash trees outside woodland. These reports are available on the Forestry Commission's website.

Avian Pox

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to tackle the new strain of avian pox which reduces the survival of great tits especially juvenile birds.

David Heath: Avian pox in wild birds in the UK has been present for many years and affects many species of wild bird. The great tit is not a threatened wild bird species in Britain and so far evidence does not indicate that the new strain is any more virulent than existing ones. Thus, currently available data do not indicate that the new strain of the disease is at present likely to threaten the British (national) population of this species.
	Avian pox is a viral infection and (as with most viruses) there is no specific treatment for the disease. At present therefore, surveillance of the disease and mapping the distribution is the most appropriate scientific approach.
	Researchers working on avian pox in great tits are partners in the DEFRA funded GB Wildlife Disease Surveillance Partnership, delivering wildlife disease surveillance to Government. One of the partners, the DEFRA supported Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency Diseases of Wildlife scheme, which has undertaken wildlife disease surveillance in England and Wales since 1998, is helping with this monitoring and has diagnosed cases of avian pox recently in birds submitted to its regional laboratories, in conjunction with one of the other partners, the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London.

Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the potential (a) value of and (b) environmental benefits arising out of his pilot biodiversity offsetting schemes;
	(2)  what support his Department has provided to the six pilot authorities for biodiversity offsetting;
	(3)  how many biodiversity offsets have taken place under his local authority pilot schemes;
	(4)  how many biodiversity offsets have been delivered under Planning Policy Statement 9 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The options impact assessment for biodiversity offsetting suggests that using offsetting across England, over the period 2011-30, could deliver benefits ranging from £210 million to £415 million a year. The costs could range from £195 million to £375 million a year. However, the analysis is based on a range of assumptions that need further testing during the pilot phase. Offsetting could potentially also add value in providing a simple, clear and straightforward mechanism for developers, local authorities and others which improves consistency, while at the same time delivering the biodiversity outcomes required by planning policy.
	Two of our guiding principles for offsetting are that any biodiversity offsetting approach should build on existing protection for biodiversity and that it should aim to deliver real and additional conservation benefits. For example, this can be achieved by expanding and restoring habitats and contributing to enhancing ecological networks.
	The local authorities in the six pilot areas have been provided with support by Natural England. Lead advisers are advising on and supporting the preparation of offsetting strategies, helping to raise awareness, evaluate potential offset providers, and advising on the technical application of the biodiversity offsetting metric. Officials within DEFRA facilitate learning and sharing between the pilots.
	The pilots began in April 2012 and the first six months have been spent developing offsetting strategies and raising awareness. There are ongoing discussions between the local authorities and developers on potentially viable offsets but to date no offsets have been delivered as part of the pilots.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral contribution of the right hon. Member for North Shropshire of 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 856, when he plans to place a note in the Library on the cost of preparations for the two cancelled badger culls.

David Heath: As promised by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), in his oral statement to the House on 23 October 2012, Official Report, columns 835-36, about bovine tuberculosis, the note outlining the cost to Government of the preparations for the two badger control pilots has been placed in the Library of the House.

Fisheries: Africa

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to persuade the EU to (a) take action to prevent illegal fishing by EU-flagged fishing trawlers off the coast of Africa and (b) support more effective enforcement action against illegal fishing trawlers off the coast of Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 26 November 2012
	I fully support the implementation of the EU's Illegal Unregulated and Unreported Fishing Regulation and my Department works closely with the Commission in helping to ensure member states’ vessels comply with its provisions. I also welcome the Commission’s intention to review the regulation to consider whether further measures are needed.
	The UK has stringent controls in place to prevent the importation into the UK of illegal fish caught off the coast of Africa, and in fact recently rejected consignments which did not comply with our controls. My officials are also members of the executive committee of the International Monitoring Control and Surveillance (IMCS) Network whose objective is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring control and surveillance through co-operation to combat IUU fishing. This includes providing support to less developed countries in Africa to assist in building enforcement capacity through exchange of expertise and knowledge and information sharing.
	In July 2012 the UK also jointly convened a capacity building workshop in Cape Town for African coastal states and regional organisations, aimed at improving countries’ ability to take effective enforcement action against illegal fishing.

Flood Control: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been made available to local authorities to alleviate flood risk in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the cost to the public purse of the repair of flood damage has been in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 29 November 2012
	The information is as follows:
	Funding to local authorities
	The total funding made available to local authorities by DEFRA to alleviate flood risk in 2011-12 in England was £47.3 million and for 2012-13 the total was £57.1 million. DEFRA provides grant in aid funding to local authorities for flood and coastal risk management work and to support new roles and responsibilities under the Flood and Water Management Act (FWMA) 2010.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Capital Flood Defence grant in aid Funding to support work required under the FWMA Total 
			 2011-12 26.3 21 47.3 
			 2012-13 21.1 36 57.1 
			 2013-14 (1)— 36 — 
			 2014-15 (1)— 36 — 
			 (1) Tba 
		
	
	Capital grant allocations for 2013-14 are currently being determined and will be announced in February 2013.
	In addition, local authorities receive funding to support their ongoing flood and coastal erosion risk management activities and costs via Formula Grant from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	Cost of flood damage
	The Bellwin scheme provides emergency financial assistance to help local authorities meet uninsurable costs they incur when dealing with the aftermath of an emergency in their area. The amounts that have been paid in respect of the recent major flooding events are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2012 (1)— 
			 Cumbria 2009 flood 0.9 
			 September 2008 Floods in Morpeth, Shropshire and Herefordshire 1.3 
			 Summer 2007 floods 19 
			 (1) Claims being processed 
		
	
	I shall write separately to the hon. Member on the payments made for flood incident damage prior to 2007.

Gangmasters

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many cases the Gangmasters Licensing Authority has brought to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution of people for being unlicensed gangmasters in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how many prosecutions there have been for people being unlicensed gangmasters in each of the last three years;
	(3)  what the (a) shortest and (b) longest sentence received for being an unlicensed gangmaster is;
	(4)  what the average sentence is handed down to a person who has been prosecuted for being an unlicensed gangmaster.

David Heath: Figures on the number of prosecutions and convictions are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  England and Wales Scotland N. Ireland 
			  No. of files submitted to prosecuting authorities Convictions No. of files submitted to prosecuting authorities Convictions No. of files submitted to prosecuting authorities Convictions 
			 2010-11 23 5 5 4 4 2 
			 2011-12 7 6 2 5 2 0 
			 2012-13 5 4 1 3 3 2 
			 Note: Cases submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service or to the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland may take up to two years to come to court; therefore, the figures are not strictly comparable on a year to year basis. 
		
	
	Sentences:
	The courts have not yet handed down a custodial sentence. Sentences have included absolute discharge (3), fines, community service and probation orders, suspended sentences and the awarding of prosecution costs. It is not possible to arrive at an average sentence but the range of sentences across the nations of the UK is illustrated below:
	England and Wales: Fines between £300 and £5,000; Costs between £300 and £10,900; Community service orders between 140 and 200 hours; Disqualifications from holding directorship of two years and five years
	Scotland: Procurator Fiscal's Warning as alternative to trial; Fines between £200 and £2,500; Community service orders of 200 hours with 18-month probation
	Northern Ireland: Sentences ranging from absolute discharge to £750 fine plus costs; two cases awaiting sentence
	There have been additional, police-led, investigations involving GLA offences. In some instances GLA offences have been set aside in favour of human trafficking charges.

Livestock: Exports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many livestock have died in the last year in the course of the live export trade.

David Heath: The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) does not hold records for the numbers of animals that have had to be euthanized as a result of becoming unfit during a journey, for exports of all species from the United Kingdom. However, in relation to the trade in live animals currently being exported through Ramsgate port, AHVLA records show that during 2012 (up to the end of October) its inspectors identified 45 animals that were not fit to continue with their journey and required them to be euthanized. This represents 0.1% of the total number of animals (36,850) exported through the port over the same period.

Livestock: Exports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations he has received from animal rights groups on cruelty in the live exports trade.

David Heath: In addition to internal meetings, I have had two recent discussions with the hon. Member for South Thanet (Laura Sandys), on exports from the port of Ramsgate.
	I also recently met with Compassion in World Farming in order to discuss a range of animal welfare issues, including the export of live animals.

Livestock: Exports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent investigation his Department has undertaken into the welfare of livestock in the course of the live export trade.

David Heath: I have now received the report by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency on their internal review of procedures following the regrettable events on 12 September at Ramsgate. At the request of Kent Trading Standards as prosecuting authority and on the basis of legal advice, the report will not be made publicly available until investigations or any prosecution action is completed.

Livestock: Transport

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to develop (a) higher standards for animal welfare and the transport of live animals than those required by minimum standards under EU law and (b) a comprehensive system of inspection and enforcement regime for all ports in England; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: This Government will continue to ensure that those responsible for the transport of livestock for slaughter meet all the requirements of the EU welfare in transport legislation. This legislation imposes tough conditions on the transport industry, particularly in relation to export journeys, including the need for observance of maximum journey times and rest periods, validated journey logs for each journey, specially approved vehicles, prior authorisation of the transporter and competency training of drivers. The Government have no plans to develop higher standards than these, which in any case could only apply to transport solely within this country and in relation to trade with countries outside the EU.

Natural Capital Committee

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many times the Natural Capital Committee has reported to the Economic Affairs Committee since May 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Since May 2012 the Natural Capital Committee has written to the Economic Affairs Committee once, regarding its terms of reference.

Polar Bears

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with their EU counterparts on the proposal of the US administration to add polar bears to CITES, Appendix I; and what position the UK has taken during these discussions;
	(2)  what his policy is on the US administration's proposal to add polar bears to CITES, Appendix I.

David Heath: DEFRA officials have participated in discussions with EU counterparts about the USA's proposal to include the polar bear in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) at the forthcoming Conference of Parties to CITES in March 2013. We are actively considering the proposal but have yet to adopt a final position.
	Discussions with EU colleagues have not taken place at ministerial level.

School Milk

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 685W, on school milk, what funding his Department has provided in subsidies for (a) school milk and (b) nursery milk in each of the last 10 years.

David Heath: The Rural Payments Agency has paid out the following amount of Primary School National Top-Up subsidy in each of the last 10 financial years to approved claimants. This scheme is funded in equal one third measures by DEFRA, DOH and DFE.
	
		
			 Financial year National Top Up (net amounts paid) (£) 
			 2001-02 1,063,072.05 
			 2002-03 1,340,824.93 
			 2003-04 1,376,322.41 
			 2004-05 1,282,145.29 
			 2005-06 1,283,809.99 
			 2006-07 1,382,975.54 
			 2007-08 1,313,286.55 
			 2008-09 1,284,779.47 
			 2009-10 774,374.85 
			 2010-11 745,987.64 
			 2011-12 614,729.46 
			 Source: Rural Payments Agency 
		
	
	In the last 10 years DEFRA has not provided any subsidy for the Nursery Milk Scheme which is funded by the Department of Health.

School Milk

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 685W, on school milk, how many portions of school milk have been (a) consumed and (b) counted for purposes of claiming EU school milk aid in each of the last 10 financial years.

David Heath: Specific information on portions of school milk consumed is not held by DEFRA.
	However, we are able to arrive at an approximate amount of the number of portions which are claimed under the EU school milk scheme each financial year based on the annual amount in kilolitres to which subsidy is paid divided by the most commonly supplied carton size, 189ml. The following table covers the last ten financial years.
	
		
			 Financial year Kilolitres paid on Assuming 189ml carton size 
			 2001/2 44,531.961 235,618,841 
			 2002/3 43,665.499 231,034,386 
			 2003/4 46,195.339 244,419,783 
			 2004/5 42,721.541 226,039,899 
			 2005/6 42,080.561 222,648,470 
			 2006/7 45,961.203 243,180,968 
			 2007/8 42,967.675 227,342,195 
			 2008/9 42,628.907 225,549,772 
			 2009/10 42,010.687 222,278,767 
			 2010/11 30,026.572 158,870,751 
			 2011/12 23,645.934 125,110,761 
			 Source: Rural Payments Agency

Seas and Oceans: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had on the (a) procedural and (b) resource reasons for the changes to the timetable for Scotland's National Marine Plan.

Richard Benyon: The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 requires that a marine plan which includes provisions relating to retained functions may only be published with approval of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson).
	The timing of when the Scottish Government submits its National Marine Plan for approval is a matter for the Scottish Government.

White Fish: North Sea

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the Report by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science on the number of mature cod in the North sea, what his policy is on quotas for North sea cod fishing in each of the next three years; and what estimate his Department has made of the levels of mature cod in the North sea.

Richard Benyon: The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science advise that there has been a gradual improvement in the status of the North sea cod stock over the last few years.
	The weight of mature cod (spawning stock biomass) has increased from its historical low in 2006 of 26.2 kt to 65.3 kt at the start of 2012. This equates to an estimated 21.2 million mature cod in the North sea.
	In agreeing quotas for North sea cod we will continue to be guided by scientific advice on how to recover this cod stock, aiming to achieve both maximum sustainable yield by 2015 and the reduction of cod discards.